The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-01-29

forms US One OF his games was
caching birds Ii is cruel sport. but
Young Augustine had been brought W
without any special sense of humanity
towards animals The Africans have
not been taught 10 pity the sufferings
OF gentle birds or beasts He also
plays nuts which is game not
very unlike our craps He con
fesses that on more than one occas-
ion he lied and stole money from his
parents in order to make presents
10 other boys.
He went TO school at Maiaura, a
town about twenty miles distant from
Tagaste. Before he was sent there.
his principal fear was that he might
be whipped at school. He read Latin
with ayidity. but he detested Greek.
This. OF course. was prejudice but
with his Latin blood went passionate
enthusiasm for everything that was
/ Latin. He had little love for Greek
art or for Greek ideals He consid-
cred the Greeks a deceitful and sl-
2arficial race. In short, his mind,
great as ii was, had the defects of
I its qualities" If Origen and ST.
Augustine could have met, they would
1 have antagonized each other.
Carthage, to use his own forcible
t theEe 1iEs oo - q 800 ~
/ like Augustine in those days 10 go
alone from small town. to the great
city OF Carthage was somewhat Ike
going 10 Paris from the provinces in
our own day. He was "his own mast
err and could do what he liked He
lived the life of the cultured pagan.
Matthew Arnold has summed up the
evil morality OF paganism in four I'M
forgetabie lines:
1 On that hard pagan world, disgust
And secret loathing fell;
4 Deep WEAKNESS and stated lust
Made human life a hell
/ But, though his life was such. his
mind had natural tendency TO
plunge into philosophical and relig-
jous speculation The doctrines OF
the Manichaeans attracted him, and
for long time ne believed in the
fierce, interminable conflict between
good and evil Finally, when he was
converted TO christianity, he reyolted
against dualism
Returning 10 Tagaste, he became a
teacher OF grammar there. His father
: was dead, and he lived with his moth
er and had one devoted friend named
4 Alypius. All great lonely souls have
at least one such friend
After teaching for some years in
: his native town, he moved on TO Car
thage, where he also Taught. Then
he decided to go 10 Rome. being al
the time 81 years OF age From Rome
he went 10 Milan, where he heard St
Ambrose preach and became person
ally acquainted with him. In Milan
he taught rhetoric and in his leisure
hours studied the epistles of ths
Apostle Paul. He now realized thai
it was sensuality kept him from tht
vision OF eternal truth It was while
mis- spirit was torn by the struggle
against the flesh that he sat in tbs
4 garden of the house in which he lfyee
[ in Milan. He felt miserable, AMI
5 tears rushed to his eyes Suddenly
3 voice seemed to utter the words IL
Latin: "Tolle ct lege," ("Take III
: and read"l. He seized copy of tn:
r scriptures and opening it read thes;
] words from St. Paurs epistles to tbs
Q Romans (xiii, %, 24): Not in riot
r ing and drunkenness, not in chamber
G ing and wantonness, not in strife ant
envying. But put We on the Lor'
D Jesus Christ, and make not provision
q for the flesh to fulfill the lusts there
J. of He writes: Il had no desire Il
z read further''-and he adds that peac
3 came into his heart and that all hi
: doubts vanished.
e At the time of his conversion h
e was not more than SO. He VS. bar
{ tized as a christian. He gave up hi
e immoral practices. He and his frien
Alypius were admitted into tn
J, church at the same time. In 3SS b
5 went to Tagaste, where ne founded
d community of monks He has write.
y ]. book on THE Solitary Life"
e II we put aside his theology, W
1 cannot help being fascinated by hi
l. religion OF personal love Of God. Thi:
) in his own words. is the fire tina
e forever burns and is never quencf
+ ed In thi. deep faith / can trac
d no sectarianism. Its absolute hop
a and trust is in the Incarnate Word.
e Such is St Augustine's childlike cor
E ception of the relations between tn
Creator and the creature.
III LUCIAN.