Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo

Peter Brown’s Augustine of Hippo is certainly a valuable biography of St. Augustine—demonstrating masterful insight and in exceptional prose. The organization of the book is comprehensive, and reflects the voracious effort of carefully sought-out research. Brown’s remarkable gift is to bring alive all the richly human tensions and depths of Augustine’s personality, and illustrate the world in which he lived.
Brown’s historical perspective adds a valuable aspect throughout Augustine’s biography. In the first few chapters, Brown consistently emphasizes the North African social structures that impacted Augustine; he specifically seems to be pointing at the pagan and Roman-Christian culture that shaped and conditioned young Augustine, and paved the way for his future education. Education was a mixture of classical literature, ancient philosophy, and strict rhetoric. It offered young men, such as Augustine, an opportunity to excel within the quickly d...