SAINT AUGUSTINE

INTRODUCTION. Saint Augustine was the greatest of the Christian writers. He exerted immense influence on the Church and his educational views were adopted and followed for many centuries.

LIFE OF AUGUSTINE.

1. BOYHOOD.

a. Birth. He was born at Tagaste, in North Africa, on November 13, 354 A.D.
b. Family. His parents were comfortable middle-class people. His father, Patricius, was a pagan and his mother, Monica, was a devout Christian.
c. Schooling., He was educated in the Latin grammar school of Madaura and the school of rhetoric in Carthage.
d. Religion. He adopted the Manichaean faith.
  2. TEACHER. Positions in Augustine's teaching career were: a. Grammar. He taught in the Latin grammar school at Tagaste.
b. Rhetoric. He opened a school of rhetoric at Carthage in 374 A.D.
c. Rome. He sailed for Rome and taught rhetoric there.
d. Milan. He accepted a professorship in rhetoric at Milan.
  3. CONVERT. Augustine became converted to Christianity.
  a. Baptism. Bishop Ambrose baptized Augustine and his son, Adeodatus, in 387 A.D.
b. Tagaste. Following the death of his mother, Augustine returned to Tagaste in 388 A.D.
c. Monastic Order. He established a small monastic order that subsequently developed into the Augustine order.
d. Ordination. Augustine was ordained a priest by the Bishop of Hippo in 391 A.D.
  4. BISHOP. a. Consecration. Augustine became the Bishop of Hippo in 396 A.D.
b. His Great Works. He wrote the Confessions, the Trinity and The City of God. These are his most important writings. c. Other Writings. He engaged in polemical writings, wrote scriptural commentaries and guided the Church in doctrinal matters.
d. Death. He died in August, 430 A.D., during the Vandal siege of Hippo.

 

 THE EDUCATIONAL IMPORTANCE OF ST. AUGUSTINE

AIMS OF EDUCATION. Augustine continued the Christian emphasis upon the future life of man, stressing that this life is merely a preparation for the life to come. A man is educated when his moral character and understanding of his faith are developed to their fullest potential.

PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION. The following concepts describe Augustinian thought regarding education:

1. OPPOSES SENSE EXPERIENCE. Man, must realize that the senses deceive him. Truth and goodness exist only in God. Man arrives at genuine knowledge and virtue after he controls his senses and frees his spirit to intuit God by reason of the supernatural life. This life is given to man when he is baptized.

2. TRUTH IS ABSOLUTE. Truth is not discovered through experimentation. It is found within the Catholic Church alone. This truth is eternal and unchanging.

3. AUTHORITARIAN. Truth is, defined by the Church. The individual must accept obediently whatever the Church declares as truth. The individual is not free to follow whatever direction his reason takes him.

4. DISCIPLINE. Although Augustine deplored cruelty, he asserted that punishment is necessary for the child to learn. Because of original sin, the pupil is inclined toward evil. He must be restrained and punished physically when it becomes apparent that his evil inclinations are not subdued.

5. CURRICULUM. The content of the child's education should include the secular learning of the pagans, in order to enrich the student's appreciation of sacred scripture. The study of rhetoric, grammar, logic, mathematics, science and philosophy provide a background for the student who intends to arrive at genuine knowledge in the study of theology. Augustine was in favor of censoring strictly the literary content of the child's reading, lest the child be turned away from virtue.

 

 THE IMPORTANCE OF AUGUSTINIAN EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT.
  1. UNIVERSAL INFLUENCE. The writings of Augustine were accepted by the Church and, through the Church, influenced subsequent educational theory for over a thousand years.

2. MORAL STRENGTH. The moral education of a Europe over-run by barbarians, demanded a rigorous ethical foundation in which a civilization could grow and prosper. Augustine contributed to this moral improvement.

3. RETARDED SCIENTIFIC GROWTH. Passive acceptance of absolute truths retarded the free inquiry necessary for scientific growth. Furthermore, the subordination of secular sciences and philosophy to theology inhibited the freedom of inquiry and exploration necessary to higher education.

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