St Rita of Cascia High School - Cascian Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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St. Augustine Helnnqs tn the Age' Aurelius Augustinus was born at Ta- gaste, a town of Numidia, on the 13th of seemed to have impressed his lnind. But he t N X -1-Us A ' fir j ,ggi Sitglss 7,-5 gpqhf. , . Sy- f 'lUt,l,w,l. it , B- 4 H711 Wy! Nkxx it t' Yr:-T s.-' ta'?c j'f Nfs5wT5-f- f:,- ,. Aww VET. , , wie? f AW-ff November, 3414 A.lJ. His father, Patricius, W ,Z 'df R V W. . , . .. -. Tx I fW?'7f'QllA' as .1 bulgess of this town, and was a pa- .t X fn? -, www? g ,ugv gM?.t.13', . . . . ' , ,4 ,XG lt Q ' wus-.,l gan at the time of his son's b1rtl1. His moth- l f?f,f'qh:iii'Hht.a' it .hi tlgl-ftlg l .. -. - W H ll i xkfl l ci, Monica, was a woman ot the most ele- ,J Aim vated, tender, and devoted piety. She in- 'wjigfgg-'IW W .filth fl . .. . 'f'??s'v Y structed her son in the taith and love of X ,ff l t g . . . . . ' e LU fe' JK Jesus Christ, and tor a time her instruction ,' l,,'t,1 ,Nl,l Q5SiE 4 ,N ,, ,J , f,.t,.l ll sQbh Q! oil jazkfji wwgj grew up without any profession of Chris- tian piety, or any devotion to Christian principles. He inherited from his father a sensual disposition and early gave way to the unbridled impulses of passion. As a result of this he became the father of a son to wholn he was passionately attached. Although Augustine was a wanton youth, he was eager and earnest in his thirst for knowledge. His father, having observed the talents of his boy, spared no expense to educate his son for a career as a rhetorician. The youth stud- ied at his home town and also at Madaura and Carthage. He was especially devoted to the Latin poets. He was not very well acquainted with Greek literature, and it has been doubted whether or not he could use, in the original, either the He- brew or Greek Sculptures. NVhile he was attending Carthage, the theater held a strange fascination for him. To his sensuous spirit the spectacles presented at the theater were irresist- ible, and the extent to which he seems to have yielded to the fascination is suf- ficient proof of his active alienation from Christianity at this period. Augustine's mind was first awakened to the spirit of speculation when in his nineteenth year he read Cicero's Hortensius. Augustine ceaselessly engaged in the study of various philosophies, and passed from one phase of thought to an- Page 6

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other, unable to find satisfaction in any. Manichaeism was the first to catch his fan- cy. Manichaeism was a doctrine of two ,if principles, one of good and one of evil. This seemed the answer to tl1c wild per- plexity that raged within l1im. He became a me111ber of the sect, and entered into the M class of auditors. His greatest ambition was to be received QIIHOIIQ the Elect and so re- ceive the core of what he thought was their superior knowledge. Soon the system lost its attraction and he abandoned it. After this letdown he traveled to Milan to serve as a teacher of rhetoric. At Milan, the conflict that raged in his mind and heart continued with more fervor than ever before. Now 30 years of age, effete and dejected, he had been seeking for some 11 years to find mental rest, unable to find it. Ambrose was, at that time, the Bishop of Milan and although his voice was weak, he was noted far and wide for his eloquence. Augustine, attracted by the reputation of this great preacher, went to hear him speak. As Ambrose spoke, Augustine hung on every word. After Ambrose had finished, Augustine wished to speak to him, but this was not easily done because Ambrose had no leisure for philosophic conversa- tion. Nevertheless, Augustine continued to hear Ambrose speak and gradually the gos- pel of divine truth was received into l1is heart. First Plato and then St. Paul opened his mind to higher thoughts, and at length certain works of St. Paul were driven home with irresistible force to his conscience. One day he was absorbed in studying the Paul- ine epistles when his struggle of mind be- came intolerable. He burst into an uncon- trollable flood of tears and rushed out into Page 7