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"Take and read, take and read", the voice of a child cried out. From where, Augustine did not know as he sat under the fig tree in despair. Again the voice cried out, "Take and read", and as if his hands were guided by an invisible power he opened the Epistle of St. Paul to the passage: " Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and envy, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the Flesh in its concupiscenes". Augustine had no need to read further, in this one quotation he had seen the error of his ways. With this scene was born one of the greatest saints of the Roman Catholic Church, St. Augustine of Hippo. 
 
But what of the early life of Augustine? He was born of a Christian mother, Monica, and a pagan father, Patricius, in Tagaste, Numidia, now Tunisia, on November 13, 354. His early life was one of violent passions and brilliant talents. He had received a Christian education, though he wasn't baptized. At the age of 17 he went to Carthage to complete his studies. While attending school at this center of learning he embraced Manichaeism and became an ardent disciple for nine years. Upon completing his education, Augustine went to Rome where he planned to begin a school of his own. A year later he was appointed professor of rhetoric to the court of Milan by the prefect of Rome. During his stay in Milan, he met the Bishop of the city, St. Ambrose. It was through his sermons that Augustine began to see the errors of Manichaeism and the good of Christianity. While recalling his reckless early life he went to his garden and tormented his mind as to which was the true religion. While sitting under the fig tree he heard the child's voice, "Take and read". On Easter Saturday in 387, Augustine went, with his mother who had journeyed to Milan to visit him, to the basilica of Milan where he was baptized by St. Ambrose. The following year Augustine and his small band journeyed to Ostia to depart for his home in Africa. The long journey, of over 350 miles, was too much for his elderly mother. She.had prayed all her life for the conversion of her son, and prayers had been answered as she joined her Maker. In 391, Augustine was ordained to the priesthood. Four years later he was consecrated bishop and in 396, appointed Bishop of Hippo.
 
Augustine was a powerful preacher and prolific writer. His nine years as a disciple of Manichaeism stood him well in refuting the doctrines of this heretical belief. He also engaged in long and bitter controversies defending the doctrines of the Church against the Donatists and Pelagianism. In the course of these debates, he wrote of sin, divine grace, divine sovereignty, and predestination which have since held an important place in the Roman Catholic Church. Probably his most famous and often-read work was the "Confessions". This was the story of his life written in 397. One of his greatest works was the "City of God", which was contained in twenty-two volumes. Ten of these books were devoted to refuting paganism and all it stands for, and the other twelve volumes trace the origin, progress, and destiny of two cities, one of God and the other of man, with the final triumph of the City of God which is the Church. These were not the only writings of Augustine. His works fill a surprising number of library shelves. Editors have accepted 363 sermons as genuine from a much greater number that bear his name. The studies of the remarkable life of this personality and his doctrines is practically endless. 
 
So remarkable and thorough were his works that one thousand four hundred years later the future Cardinal Newman was brought into the Catholic Church through the writings of Augustine. He was not only the center of ecclesiastical life but his teachings dominated the entire Middle Ages and even today, theology. 
 
The inexhaustible talents of this famous saint were not limited to preaching and writing. He introduced community life in his Episcopal See that is followed even today by many religious orders, the most prominent being the Augustines and the Dominicans. On August 28, 430, Augustine departed from this world to a new life in heaven. In 1295, Pope Boniface VIII declared him a doctor of the Church. The date of his death was proclaimed his feast day and is so celebrated throughout the universal Church. Vatican City has maintained a practice of honoring great saints on the anniversary of their death. This precedent was broken however when a set of two commemoratives, 35 Lire, and 50 Lire, was placed on sale on November 13, 1954, to mark the 16th Centenary of the Birth of St. Augustine of Hippo. The design of the stamps were executed by the noted Vatican designer, Edmondo Pizzi. Mr. Pizzi obtained his inspiration for the design from a painting by Botticelli, "St. Augustine in Meditation", in the Church of San Salvadore d'Ognissanti (All Saints) in Florence, Italy. Mr. Pizzi added an open book to the original with the wording, "Tolle Lege", (Take and Read) as well as the necessary wording and country identification.
 
This article first appeared in Vatican Notes Volume VIII, Number 2, Pages 11-12, in 1959. The original article can be accessed by clicking on the link below:
 
REFERENCE: 
<li>Anonymous, Vatican Notes Volume VIII, Number 2, Pages 11-12, September-October, 1959, <a href='https://www.vaticanstamps.org/vaticannotes/archives/VaticanNotes049.pdf'>St. Augustine of Hippo</a>

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