Thagaste

Chapter 1.

How St. Monica was brought up by Christian parents in the city of Tagaste.

On the sunny northern coast of Africa in the country which we now call Algeria stood, in the early days of Christianity, a city called Tagaste.

Not far distant lay the field of Zarna, where the glory of Hannibal had perished forever.

But Rome had long since avenged the sufferings of her bitter struggle with Carthage.

The old struggle with paganism, which had lasted for 400 years, was nearly at an end, but new dangers assailed the Christian world.

Men had found that it was easier to twist the truth than to deny it, and hearsay and schism were abroad.

In the atrium, or outer court of a villa on the outskirts of Tagaste, an old woman and a young girl sat together looking out into the dark shadows of the evening.

Chapter 1.

How St. Monica was brought up by Christian parents in the city of Tagaste.

On the sunny northern coast of Africa in the country which we now call Algeria stood, in the early days of Christianity, a city called Tagaste.

Not far distant lay the field of Zarna, where the glory of Hannibal had perished forever.

But Rome had long since avenged the sufferings of her bitter struggle with Carthage.

The old struggle with paganism, which had lasted for 400 years, was nearly at an end, but new dangers assailed the Christian world.

Men had found that it was easier to twist the truth than to deny it, and hearsay and schism were abroad.

In the atrium, or outer court of a villa on the outskirts of Tagaste, an old woman and a young girl sat together looking out into the dark shadows of the evening.

CHAPTER I.

How St. Monica was brought up by Christian parents in the city of Tagaste.

on the sunny

northern coast of africa in the country which we now call algeria stood in the early days of christianity a city called tagaste not far distant lay the field of czarna where the glory of hannibal had perished forever but rome had long since avenged the sufferings of her bitter struggle with carthage it was the ambition of roman africa as the new colony had been called by its conquerors to be if possible more roman than rome every town had its baths its theatre its circus its temples its aqueducts it was forbidden even to exiles as a place of refuge too much like home said the authorities it was about the middle of the fourth century the church was coming forth from her long imprisonment into the light of day The successor of Constantine, in name, a Christian, sat on the imperial throne.

The old struggle with paganism, which had lasted for four hundred years, was nearly at an end, but new dangers assailed the Christian world.

Men had found that it was easier to twist the truth than to deny it, and hearsay and schism were abroad.

In the atrium, or outer court of a villa on the outskirts of Tagaste, an old woman and a young girl sat together looking out into the dark shadows of the evening for the hot african sun had sunk not long since behind the numidian mountains and the day had gone out like a lamp and the holy bishop cyprian asked the girl they sent him into exile said the old woman for his father had been a senator and his family was well known and powerful At that time they dared not put him to death, though later he too shed his blood for Christ.

It was God's will that he should remain for many years to strengthen his flock in the trial.

Our friend Blair Smith has done a course on Augustine, an entire seminary course, and we're just trying to barely sketch an outline in these minutes together of his life and of his influence.

Augustine was born in 354 in Thagaste, T-H-A-G-A-S-T-E, Thagaste, town in North Africa, present day Algeria.

He had a pagan father who eventually became a Christian, and he had a devoutly Christian mother, Monica, and she looms large in his life.

Augustine was not a good kid.

I w- I wrote my autobiography, that'll come out the, in the fall, and, uh, I talked about Saint Augustine.

You know, when he shows up in Tagaste, he's gonna be a rhetorician, he's gonna make some serious money, and he said, "You could feel the lust in the air." Well, this is the late Roman Empire, he's not converted yet, and I'm saying, "That was not Philadelphia." [laughs] That was not Philadelphia from 1962 to 1966, which is when I was in high school.

There was a residual, uh, chastity.

What can I say? It was a cultural chastity.