AUGUSTINE and JEROME, 15th June

'ALWAYS BE A FIRST-RATE VERSION OF YOURSELF,
AND NOT  SECOND -RATE VERSION OF SOMEONE ELSE', Judy Garland

AUGUSTINE was born and died in North Africa, which was then part of the Roman Empire.
He taught philosophy in Rome and Milan, converted to Christianity in 387 and was consacrated the bishop of Hippo in 395.
'I knew myself to have a will in the same way and as much as I knew myself  to be alive. Therefore when I willed or did not will something, I was utterly certain that none other than myself was willing or not willing' ( Book VII of the 'Confessions')
Recognising that he had control of his own free will means that Augustine is the true author of Descartes' and modern philosophy's great principle 'I think therefore I am'

JEROME (c. 27 March 347 – 30 September 420) was a priest, confessor, theologian and historian. He was the son of Eusebius, born at Stridon, a village near Emona on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia, then part of north eastern Italy.
He is best known for his translation of most of the Bible into Latin (the translation that became known as the Vulgate), and his commentaries on the Gospels. His list of writings is extensive.
The protégé of Pope Damasus I, who died in December of 384, Jerome was known for his teachings on Christian moral life, especially to those living in cosmopolitan centers such as Rome. In many cases, he focused his attention to the lives of women and identified how a woman devoted to Jesus should live her life. This focus stemmed from his close patron relationships with several prominent female ascetics who were members of affluent senatorial families.
On 24 August 410 barbarians entered Rome:
'In one city, st Jerone wrote, the whole world perished'. By the end of the 5th century the western Roman Empire was no more.

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