Dear Folk,
Let us raise ein stein of beer to the Patron Saint of brewers, Augustine of Hippo! Today is his saint's day and the anniversary of his death on August 28, 430 CE.
Auggie was born November 13, 354 to a pagan dad, who converted to Christianity on his death bed (hey, you have to copper your bets here!) and St. Monica who is most famous for her pier down near LA. He was born in Tagaste, Numidia, North Africa (Souk-Ahras, Algeria) as Aurelius Augustinus . A long name, see why he went by Auggie? Auggie was raised a Christian by his mom but you know how it is when kids get off to school. First it is rock and roll, then funny hair color, next they are believing almost anything: UFOs. Brittany Spears, higher octane gasoline is worth the money, they can win the lottery, the sincerity of an adolescent male.
Yep, even though this was slightly before REM, Auggie was losing his religion. He partied like it was 999. Found himself a Carthaginian woman and lived with her from the time he was 15 through 30. They had a son whom they called Adeotadus (the gift of God). That is sort of like the name John. I do wonder what happened to him since preachers' kids do have a reputation.
Auggie got a gig in Carthage and then up in Milan teaching rhetoric. You might investigate what rhetoric entails. It is an art and science of using words correctly and with impact. It was sort of the Neuro-Linguistic Programming of ancient studies. Dangerous tools. Boy was smart.
After shopping around for something in which to believe, Auggie found Manichaeism. It appealed to his sense of logic and completeness. Okay, most of you know about Manichaeism but for those of you who were asleep that day in Sunday school, I will fill you in.
Manichæism is a religion founded by a Persian guy named Mani in the latter half of the third century. The fellow got an angelic vision, was told to wait a bit before he announced anything. Seven years later, on March 20th no less, he went public in Babylon. Of course no one dug it and he got run out of town. No surprise. He came in with a philosophy that said it was the true synthesis of all the religious systems then known, and actually consisted of Zoroastrian Dualism, Babylonian folklore, Buddhist ethics, and some small and superficial, additions of Christian elements. Real New Age stuff.
His religion said that there were two basic gods, one dark and one light. They coexisted and will coexist. Problems in the world started when the dark god tried to invade the light's domain. I knew you would remember. Well, this is the sin of Dualism, pure and simple. The Christians could not go for this. God is not two. Okay, there is that bit about the Trinity but let us not talk about that here.
Now this Manichæism caught everyone by surprise. It made so much sense. It explained why God let evil exist in the world: God had no choice in the matter. It spread throughout the East and West and existed for at least a thousand years. Voltaire may even have been one. Okay, maybe Voltaire did not believe in anything, but his book Candide sure sounds like it expresses some of the same philosophy. The hotbeds of it were in its homeland of the land between the rivers (Mesopotamia) and even further East in Northern India, Western China, and Tibet, where, around 1000 CE, the bulk of the population professed its tenets. Like I said, no one knows if it has died out. Any comments, esoteric brethren or cistern?
Auggie dug the convoluted thinking plus he felt it gave him license to licentiousness. A summation of his thinking at the time comes from his Confessions: "God, give me chastity and continence - but not just now." I am not sure what caused his break with Manichæism but we do know that his mom was praying for him daily.
Through those prayers of his saintly mother and the moving preaching of St. Ambrose, Auggie finally became convinced that Christianity was the one true religion. Yet he did not become a Christian then, because he thought he could never live a pure life. How many of us are waiting to be good enough for something? Well, cut it out!
One day, Auggie heard about two men who had suddenly been converted on reading the life of St. Anthony, and he felt terribly ashamed of himself. "What are we doing?" he cried to his friend Alipius. "Unlearned people are taking Heaven by force, while we, with all our knowledge, are so cowardly that we keep rolling around in the mud of our sins!"
He was bummed: here were regular folks getting the message and Auggie was sitting on the fence. He flung himself out into the garden, fortunately the rake was stored tines down, and cried out to God, "How long more, O Lord? Why does not this hour put an end to my sins?" Just then he heard a child singing, "Take up and read!" Thinking that God intended him to hear those words, he picked up the book of the Letters of St. Paul, and read the first passage his gaze fell on. Bang! It was just what Auggie needed, for in it, St. Paul says to put away all impurity and to live in imitation of Jesus. That did it! From then on, Auggie began a new life.
He was baptized, became a priest, a bishop of the town of Hippo (means "horse" and you knew that), a famous Catholic writer, founder of religious priests, and one of the most notable saints that ever lived. He became very devout and charitable, too On the wall of his room he had the following sentence written in large letters: "Here we do not speak evil of anyone." St. Auggie overcame strong heresies, practiced great poverty and supported the poor, preached very often and prayed with great fervor right up until his death. "Too late have I loved You!" he once cried to God, but you know most of the world thinks he did pretty good once he put down the pipe and the stein.
You want a real good taste of his faith? "Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you." Pretty sweet on God, says I.
He is the patron saint of those folks trying to give up bad habits, brewers, theologians, printers, and folks with sore eyes. He is represented with a child, a dove, a pen, and a shell in medieval art. His feast day is August 28th.
So what have we learned? Carthage girls are hot? Manichæism is bad and we should not believe in it? Brewers are a sight for sore eyes? Not speaking evil of folks may get you to be made a saint? The Betty Ford Clinic should have a statue of St. Augustine somewhere on the premises? How about never underestimate the power of a mother's prayers?
Today also marks the anniversary of debut into the world of a great friend, ferocious fighter, funny guy, great father, good husband to one of the prettiest ladies in the land, and my squire. Happiest of birthdays, Gunnar (mka Joel Hendrix), the world is better because you are in it.
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas,
J. Ellsworth Weaver
SCA – Sir Balthazar of Endor
AS – Polyphemus Theognis
TRV – Sebastian Yeats