Page:Great Men and Famous Women Volume 3.djvu/117

 ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO* BY His EMINENCE JAMES, CARDINAL GIBBONS (354-430) AMONG the few great names which have most signally emblazoned the pages of history, and whose fame and influence have not been limited to their own age, coun- try, or people, that of Augustine, saint and bishop, stands out pre-eminently as worthy of all the encomiums bestowed upon him by serious students of men and their times. He has been and is regarded as the greatest and most celebrated of theologians, the father and master of preachers of the Divine Word, the peer of the rarest and most enlightened minds, whose soaring is above all time. He has been given a place with Plato and Bos- suet, with Cicero and St. Thomas, in the universal acclaim. Great in faith, great in thought, great in virtue, great in genius, he lived in the century of great men, tower- ing above all. Athanasius was Patriarch of Alexandria and Cyril of Jerusalem ; Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzen, and Basil the Great, formed a triumvirate of holy, eloquent, and erudite defend- ers of truth and justice ; Ambrose was by his faith and piety illumining the See of Milan ; the Christian Cicero, Chrysostom, was pouring forth at Constantinople streams of golden eloquence ; Jerome, the hermit of Bethlehem, was giving his masterly expositions of Scripture. And Augustine arose in this galaxy of great- ness and genius to shed glory on the land and church of Africa, which had seen its Tertullian and been adorned by its Cyprian. Contact with such men were an honor ; drinking at their feet deep and wholesome draughts of purest wisdom were glory : but to have the notes of one's song arise above theirs as did Augus- tine's, were solid genius and lasting fame. St. Augustine was born on November 13, A.D. 354, at the little town of Ta- gasta, in ancient Numidia, which is now Algeria. His father was an unassuming and honorable soul, though of humble and modest origin. His mother was the sainted Monica, who is so justly venerated on Christian altars. The early educa tion of Augustine was received in his native village, with slender means and amidst meagre advantages. As a boy he manifested very little of those studious babits whicn were afterward to distinguish and elevate him to universal honor. CoDvnght. 1894, by Selmar Hess.