Few lives have responded so...
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Few lives have responded so greatly to forgiveness as Saint Augustine of Hippo. His father, Patricius, was a pagan and a "curiales" of a small city, Tagaste, in Numedia. His mother, Monica, was Christian and Augustine received a Christian education. He suffered from a great intellectual and moral crisis. His father, proud of his academic success, decided to send Augustine to Carthage to study for a forensic career. While his father arranged the resources for his son's education, Augustine (age sixteen) devoted himself to the available pleasures. By the time he arrived in Carthage, his distractions ushered him off course. An encounter with Cicero's Hortensus in 373 led to a devotion to philosophy. About the same time he became a devotee of the Manichaeans and their dualism. He went through a variety of experiences until, at 33, having just heard the story of the conversion of Victorinus from Simplincaianus, he had a spiritual experience. While walking and meditating in a garden in Milan, he heard the sound of children's voices. Shortly thereafter, he fell ill and went with his mother and others to a country estate for recuperation. Following that trip, he completely devoted his life to Christianity, which he had come to regard as synonymous with faith.
