Truthlover
08-11-2009, 10:11 PM
Dear friends,
After reading two books by St. Augustine (Confessions and The City of God) and the great biography of him by Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo (University of California Press, 2000), I think if I were given the chance to go back in history and meet and live in company with any great person, I would choose Augustine of Hippo. He was so human and such a man full of love. After his conversion at the age of 32, he still wanted to live with a community of friends, and every one of them would eat at his table. What conversations they must have had! His insights are so incredibly enlightening! No matter what he talks about in his books, you constantly find jewels to take with you on the path of life. The present Pope (Benedict XVI), when he was asked what books he would take to a desert island if he were allowed only two, replied: "The Bible and the Confessions of St. Augustine." I think Augustine is the most underrated author in history.
After reading two books by St. Augustine (Confessions and The City of God) and the great biography of him by Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo (University of California Press, 2000), I think if I were given the chance to go back in history and meet and live in company with any great person, I would choose Augustine of Hippo. He was so human and such a man full of love. After his conversion at the age of 32, he still wanted to live with a community of friends, and every one of them would eat at his table. What conversations they must have had! His insights are so incredibly enlightening! No matter what he talks about in his books, you constantly find jewels to take with you on the path of life. The present Pope (Benedict XVI), when he was asked what books he would take to a desert island if he were allowed only two, replied: "The Bible and the Confessions of St. Augustine." I think Augustine is the most underrated author in history.