ABSTRACT
During nine years, from the age of 19 to 28, he was to continue this sympathy, in spite of the grief of the pious Monica, whom these aberrations greatly distressed.
About his twentieth year (c. 374), he had become a professor in his native town, Thagaste.3 He continued his liaison with the same woman who had presented him with a son, Adeodatus. In spite of his adhesion to Manichaeism his soul was unsatisfied, and he sought his path in books. Curious to understand everything, astrology attracted him for a time, but a certain Vindicianus, a man of Pro-Consular rank, and better instructed than he in the nothingness of that pseudo.science, half succeeded in undeceiving him. 4 Then the death of a dear friend reduced him to such an extremity of sorrow 5 that he determined to leave Thagaste for Carthage where a post as rhetorician had been offered him. 6
He remained there about eight years. It is here that he wrote his first work, which we no longer possess, the de Pulchro et Apto. He was not long in casting away his illusions regarding Manichaeism. The fantastic conceptions of Manes on certain questions of accurate knowledge where it was possible to verify them personaJly, had always seemed strange to him, and it astonished him that Manes represented them as being inspired. The Manichaeans whom he continually interrogated evaded his questions. Now there arrived at Carthage a Manichaean Bishop named Faustus, who was reputed by all to be eloquent and learned. Augustine hastened to place before him his doubts. But he only could reply with elegant phrases and ended with the simple can-
fession that he did not understand much about those kind of things. Thereupon Augustine felt his keen ardour of hitherto sensibly cooled down.1
