The Respublica Christiana

Abstract

St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430), the greatest of all the Latin fathers, was the son of a devout Christian mother, St. Monica, and a pagan father. Augustine passed from a nominal Christianity in his early days into a young manhood somewhat dissolute and wayward, but ever marked by an unremitting search for the meaning of existence. He was profoundly puzzled by the problem of evil, and for a time he adhered to the sect of Manichaeans. Through the study of Plato he obtained a deeper insight into the meaning of incorporeal reality. And Platonism, or Neoplatonism, remained a significant influence in his thinking. For a while he taught rhetoric at Milan. Finally, as he relates in his Confessions. a remarkable spiritual autobiography, the prayers of his mother were answered. Much influenced by St. Paul, and assisted by Ambrose of Milan, he regained his faith.