Childhood and education
The Saint Augustine Taken to School by Saint Monica. by Niccolò di Pietro1413-15
Augustine was born in 354 in themunicipium of Thagaste (now Souk Ahras, Algeria) in Roman Africa.[19][20]His mother, Monica, was a devout Christian; his father Patricius was a Pagan who converted to Christianity on his deathbed.[21] Scholars believe that Augustine's ancestors included Berbers,Latins, and Phoenicians.[22] He considered himself to be African.[23]
Augustine's family name, Aurelius, suggests that his father's ancestors were freedmen of the gens Aurelia given full Roman citizenship by the Edict of Caracalla in 212. Augustine's family had been Roman, from a legal standpoint, for at least a century when he was born.[24] It is assumed that his mother, Monica, was of Berber origin, on the basis of her name,[22][25] but as his family were honestiores, an upper class of citizens known as honorable men, Augustine's first language is likely to have been Latin.[22]
At the age of 11, Augustine was sent to school at Madaurus (nowM'Daourouch), a small Numidian city about 19 miles south of Thagaste. There he became familiar with Latin literature, as well as pagan beliefs and practices.[26] His first insight into the nature of sin occurred when he and a number of friends stole fruit they did not want from a neighborhood garden. He tells this story in his autobiography, The Confessions. He remembers that he did not steal the fruit because he was hungry, but because "it was not permitted."[27] His very nature, he says, was flawed. 'It was foul, and I loved it. I loved my own error—not that for which I erred, but the error itself." [27] From this incident he concluded the human person is naturally inclined to sin, and in need of the grace of Christ.
At the age of 17, through the generosity of his fellow citizen Romanianus,[28]Augustine went to Carthage to continue his education in rhetoric. It was while he was a student in Carthage that he readCicero's dialogue Hortensius (now lost), which he described as leaving a lasting impression and sparking his interest in philosophy.[29] Although raised as a Christian, Augustine left the church to follow the Manichaean religion, much to his mother's despair.[30] As a youth Augustine lived a hedonistic lifestyle for a time, associating with young men who boasted of their sexual exploits. The need to gain their acceptance forced inexperienced boys like Augustine to seek or make up stories about sexual experiences.[31] It was during this period that he uttered his famous prayer, "Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet."[32]
At about the age of 19, Augustine began an affair with a young woman in Carthage. Though his mother wanted him to marry a person of his class, the woman remained his lover[33] for over fifteen years[34] and gave birth to his son Adeodatus,[35] who was viewed as extremely intelligent by his contemporaries. In 385, Augustine ended his relationship with his lover in order to prepare himself to marry a ten year old heiress (He had to wait for two years because the legal age of marriage was twelve. By the time he was able to marry her, however, he instead decided to become a celibate priest).[34][36]
Augustine was from the beginning a brilliant student, with an eager intellectual curiosity, but he never mastered Greek[37] —he tells us that his first Greek teacher was a brutal man who constantly beat his students, and Augustine rebelled and refused to study. By the time he realized that he needed to know Greek, it was too late; and although he acquired a smattering of the language, he was never eloquent with it. However, his mastery of Latin was another matter. He became an expert both in the eloquent use of the language and in the use of clever arguments to make his points.culled from Wikipedia
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