Saint Augustine Of Hippo: Biography Of This Philosopher And Priest
Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430) was a priest and philosopher of the Catholic Church, known as the “Doctor of Grace.” He dedicated his life to reflecting deeply on theology and politics, which laid the foundations for an important part of medieval and modern philosophy.
Next we will see a biography of Saint Augustine of Hippo as well as a brief description of his main works.
Biography of Saint Augustine of Hippo: priest, theologian and philosopher
Augustine of Hippo, originally called Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis, was born on November 13, 354 in a Roman province in North Africa called Tagaste (now Algeria). He was the son of Monica, of Berber origin and devoted to the Catholic church; and Patrick, a descendant of pagan beliefs. Both a respectable couple from Roman society.
At age 11, Agustín was sent to a school south of Tagaste, where he remained until he was 17, when he began his training in rhetoric. After this, and Despite having been raised Catholic, Augustine left the church to follow Manichaeism, a religion formed by the Persian prophet Mani, in whom he became disappointed years later. Shortly afterward he started a family with the woman who was his partner for 15 years. With her he had her only son, named Adeodato, who would die at an early age.
In the year 383, Augustine moved to Rome, where he continued studying rhetoric, philosophy, persuasion, and public speaking skills. He soon became one of the most representative intellectuals in the Latin world which also allowed him to carry out political activities.
Later he moved to Milan, where he finally got rid of Manichaeism and concluded that it was a form of heresy to combat. In philosophical matters he was interested in skepticism and Neoplatonism
In the summer of 386, and after having gone through a deep personal crisis, detailed in his famous work Confessions; Augustine of Hippo finally converts to Christianity. He abandons rhetoric and academia, renounces his marital commitment, and thus dedicates himself to practicing the priesthood.
After this he returned to North Africa and founded a monastery. In the year 391 he received priestly ordination in the city of Hippo, which is now Annaba, Algeria. From then on he was known as Augustine of Hippo, and he was soon recognized as a great preacher.
Augustine of Hippo died in the year 430, probably on August 28, at the age of 75; after having been named bishop and “patron of regular clergy.” Although the exact causes of his death are not known, it is known that it was in the context of the invasion of the Roman province of Africa by the Vandals of Genseric.
Three main works
Augustine of Hippo was recognized not only in Italy and Africa, but in Spain and the Middle East. His works are especially known Confessions, City of God and Reconsiderations, although there are many others. Below we will see a brief description of its main ideas.
1. Confessions
This work It is made up of 13 books, and most of them are autobiographical stories Saint Augustine decided to name his work Confessions not only for that, but for the religious meaning of the act of confessing. The work is made up of reflections by Saint Augustine on his own life, taking as reference the biblical book of Genesis.
He addresses topics such as the contradictions between his past and later positions of authority as a bishop. It also talks about the nature of sin and redemption, which shows the influence of Bishop Saint Ambrose on the thought of Augustine, as well as the doctrines of Plato. He also discusses the renunciation of sexuality after priestly ordination, the search for divine wisdom, and the mystical experience that occurred to him in Milan and that led him to finally decide on Catholic life.
2. City of God
In the context of war and political conflicts between Africa and Italy, as well as in a religious environment that constantly faced paganism, Saint Augustine spent 15 years working on a new way of understanding human society.
For the philosopher, it was necessary to establish a City of God capable of opposing the City of Man. The latter was condemned to disorder, with which It was important that the wise men advocated for a city based on divinity
The work is divided into 22 books, which range from the questioning of pagan communities that claimed different forms of divine power; to the biblical history of humanity (from Genesis to the Last Judgment). Thus, he sought to present a “true history” of the City of God. This is considered one of the fundamental works to understand the political order that characterized the Middle Ages.
3. Reconsiderations
Reconsiderations was written in the last years of his life, and offers a retrospective view of the career of Saint Augustine It is made up of several of his previous writings and includes comments on the circumstances in which they were written, as well as rectifications or ratifications of what was said.
It is a work that deeply expresses the thoughts and life of this philosopher. It owes its title precisely to the exercise of self-analysis that Saint Augustine carries out.
Other notable works
In addition to the above, other works that are representative of the thought and life of Saint Augustine are Christian Doctrine (written between the years 396 and 397), The Trinity (written between the years 399/400-416/421), Literal Commentaries on Genesis (from the years 401/414) and Sermonsfrom the same time.
