Abstract

This novel is a reconstruction of the early life of St Augustine of Hippo in fourth century Rome and Milan. It was a time of political decadence, but also of intellectual and religious ferment. Traditional ways of life, government, religious and thought were changing rapidly and decisively. Christianity, though already given official backing by the Emperor Constantine, was still challenged by other creeds, and continually in process of defining itself. Augustine's moral and intellectual growth are described through the imagined journal of Alypius, his greatest friend and admirer. After they have studied together in Carthage, Augustine rejoins Alypius in Rome, where they are immediatey caught up in the struggle of contemporary philisophies.