Saint Augustine

Ancient philosophy

Saint Augustine (354–430 AD) was a Christian philosopher of late antiquity, born in Algeria. He is one of the four Fathers of the Western Church. After a dissolute youth, which he recounts in the Confessions, he became preoccupied with the problem of evil. Initially drawn to Manichaeism, he converted to Christianity and became Bishop of Hippo. He wrote The City of God, the work most copied by scribes in the Middle Ages. He was canonised in 1298 by Pope Boniface VIII.

On this page dedicated to Saint Augustine, discover summaries of his works, a bibliography, videos, a detailed biography, and a list of his major works.

The Works of Saint Augustine Summarised on This Site

book cover

The Confessions

In this work, Saint Augustine recounts the spiritual journey that led him from a debauched youth to conversion and becoming bishop of Hippo

Read

Bibliography

Here are the essential books if you wish to better understand this author's thought:

Kolbet, Paul R. (2010). Augustine and the Cure of Souls: Revising a Classical Ideal. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press.
Dodaro, Robert (2004). Christ and the Just Society in the Thought of Augustine. Cambridge University Press.
Conybeare, Catherine (2006). The Irrational Augustine. Oxford University Press.
Ayres, Lewis (2010). Augustine and the Trinity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
von Heyking, John (2001). Augustine and Politics as Longing in the World. Columbia: University of Missouri Press.

Biography: Life of Augustine

Childhood

Augustine was born in Thagaste, a Roman colony in Algeria, in 354 AD, into a Romanised Berber family.

His father, a small landowner, was a firm adherent of Roman polytheism, while his mother Monica was a devout Christian — she was later beatified by the Church as Saint Monica. Torn between these two influences, Augustine was nonetheless brought up in his mother's faith.

A gifted but undisciplined pupil, he was given to petty theft — most famously the incident of the stolen pears.

At Carthage: Pleasure

At seventeen, he went to Carthage to study rhetoric. He found a city awash with debauchery and the unbridled pursuit of pleasure, and threw himself into it. There he met the woman with whom he would live as a concubine for fifteen years; they had a son, Adeodatus.

Throughout this period, however, he was driven by an intense intellectual curiosity and a deep psychological restlessness, which set him on a long quest for truth.

He came across a work by Cicero, the Hortensius, which kindled in him a keen interest in philosophy.

He also became drawn to Manichaeism, a doctrine to which he adhered for nine years. This Eastern religion, now virtually extinct, professed a radical dualism between Good and Evil, Light and Darkness.

After a brief return to Thagaste, he made plans to leave for Rome, drawing on contacts he had built up in Carthage, including the consul.

At Milan: the Conversion

statue of Saint Augustine in Malta — The statue of Saint Augustine in Victoria, Malta

From Rome, he went to Milan to teach rhetoric. His career began to flourish, and he revelled in it: ambitious by nature, he pursued wealth and social standing. He parted from his partner of sixteen years — a wrench that tore him apart — in order to arrange a marriage that would advance his prospects.

At the same time, he frequented Platonist circles in Milan and, above all, attended the sermons of Bishop Ambrose. These did not immediately bring about his conversion to Christianity, but they turned him decisively away from Manichaeism.

Friends such as Alypius played an important part in his spiritual journey: it was on hearing them recount the conversions of people close to them that Augustine, deeply moved, resolved to convert himself.

He gave up teaching rhetoric and withdrew to a friend's villa for a spiritual retreat. During that year, he wrote several works, including Contra academicos, Soliloquies and On the Happy Life.

He was finally baptised on the Easter night of 24–25 April 387, together with his son — to the great joy of his mother, whose most fervent wish it had been.

At Hippo: the Office of Bishop

Shortly afterwards, he returned to his home town of Thagaste, where he lived for a few years in a spiritual community he had founded, bound together by the Christian faith.

In 391, he succeeded Valerius as bishop of the region. As Bishop of Hippo, he entered a period of intense intellectual activity, writing the Confessions — his most celebrated work — as well as The City of God and On the Trinity.

The end of Augustine's life coincided with the final days of the Roman Empire.

He died during the siege of the city by the Vandal leader Genseric in 430. Nearly nine hundred years later, he was canonised by the Catholic Church and recognised as both a Doctor and a Father of the Church.

Main Works

Confessions
The City of God
On the Trinity