A philosopher, writer, and theologian, St. Augustine was one of the most profound Christian figures of his time. He even had a large impact on later theologians, such as Thomas Acquinas. 

Also known as Augustine of Hippo, he was born in Roman Northern Africa and was raised by a Christain mother. As a young man, Augustine lived in sin and was not Christain, but instead practiced many different religions and philosophies. Continually, Augustine would be left dissatisfied by these religions, like when he converted from Manichaesm to Skepticism in 383. At this time, he went to Rome and Milan to teach rhetoric and became a Neo-Platinist. While in Milan, Augustine met St. Ambrose of Milan who was preaching Christianity in a church. Known to be an exceptional public speaker, St. Ambrose became friends with Augustine. However, Augustine was not immediately converted to Christianity. After thoroughly reading and studying the Bible, Augustine finally accepted the faith in 383. He later became bishop of Hippo, Algeria, but found it hard to convert the people in the city. 

Highly influenced by Plato, Augustine answered Plato’s question of “the forms” by concluding that the form of everything were the archetypes of how God created the world. Continuing, Augustine stated that the same way the sun makes things visible is how divine light makes eternal truths visible. Asserting that happiness is what every human should pursue, Augustine meant for people to find happiness in God’s grace, not worldly things. God’s eternal laws are written on every man’s heart, so following these laws is what God meant man to do. Since Man is corrupted by original sin, he needs divine grace to observe these laws.

Augustine’s two most famous books were “The Confessions” and “City of God.” In The first part of “The Confessions” Augustine talks about his sinful life as a young man, but in the latter half speaks on a controversy which asserted that Christianity led to the end of the Roman Empire. Augustine refuted this by explaining that Rome’s demise was caused internally because of sin and corruption. In “City of God,” Augustine stated how there were two groups of men: those who love God and those who love themselves. Hence the City of God and the City of Man have always run parallel to each other throughout human history.