St. Augustine on the Walls |
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Unhappy experiences in school. Here, as in many of the pictures, we see Augustine several times. We see him on the left in a green outfit with his mother Monica (she always has a halo, indicating her sainthood). She is apparently dropping him off at the school. We also see him at the far right, learning his lessons. Augustine hated school; he says he was "sent to school to learn my letters, though I, poor wretch could see no point in them." He especially feared being beaten by the teachers when he didn't do his homework (1.9.14). His parents didn't sympathize with him, because they thought that beatings were the normal experience of children. Indeed, one child is being held on an adult’s back so he can be whipped on his bare bottom.
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School | College | Mother of Tears | Rome | The teacher | To Milan | Arrival in Milan |
St. Ambrose | Conversion | Baptism | Seashell | Death of Monica | Funeral | Home Page |
Images are taken from: The Web Gallery of Art. Quotations from St. Augustine's Confessions, translated by Maria Boulding, O.S.B., (Hyde Park, New York: New City Press) 1997. Author: John Immerwahr, Update: March 21, 2008.