St Augustine of Hippo

I. Life.

1. Formative Period.

Sources for a Biography (§ 1).

archbishop of Canterbury. 1. Authorities. The authentic materials for the life of the first archbishop of Canterbury are almost entirely comprised in the first and second books of Bede's ' Ecclesiastical History.' Some additional points, however, are brought out in (a) Gocelin's Life of St. Augustine, contained in the Acta Sanctorum of May 26, and written during' the 11th century, in a singularly turgid and rhetorical style; (6) Thorn's Chronicles of St. Augustine's Abbey; (c). A few let- ters of Gregory the Great; (d@). The lives of Gregory the Great by Paul the Deacon and John the Deacon (Cent. viii. and ix.).

2. Origin of his Mission to England. The mission of Augustine to England was due to circum- stances of peculiar interest. While Gregory the Great was still a monk in the famous monastery of St. Andrew, which he had himself founded on the Caelian Mount at Rome, he was one day passing through the market-place of the city, at a time when it was crowded with people attracted by the arrival of new cargoes of merchandise. Amongst the bales of goods exposed for sale® he noticed three boys, distinguished for their fair complexion, the sweet expression of their faces, and their light flaxen hair.> Struck with pity, he inquired from what part of the world they had come, and was answered, 'From Britain, where all the inhabitants have the same fair complexion." He next proceeded to inquire whether che people of this strange country were Christians or pagans, and hearing that they were pagans, with a deep sigh,¢ remarked that it was "sad to think that beings so full of light and brightness should be in the power of the Prince of Darkness."

He next asked the name of their nation. "Angles," was the reply; whereupon, playing with the word, he answered, " Rightly are they called Angles, for their faces are as the faces of angels, and they ought to be fellow-heirs with the angels of heaven." " And from what country," he proceeded, "do they come?" ' From Deira," was the reply, that is, from the country between the Tyne and the Humber, including Durham and Yorkshire. "Rightly," he answered, "are they named Deirans. From the ire of God are they plucked, and to the mercy of God are they called." 'And who," he inquired once more, "is the king of this province?" 'Ella,"4 was the answer. The word reminded him of the Hebrew expression of praise, and he answered " Allelujah! the praise of God shall be chanted in that clime." Years passed away after this