A Saint's Perspective

From a letter (No. 24) written in 392 C.E. from Augustine to a schismatic bishop regarding the violent religious wars then raging in northern Africa: I do not propose to compel men to embrace the communion of any party, but desire the truth to be made known to persons who, in their search for it, are free from disquieting apprehensions. On our side there shall be no appeal to men's fear of the civil power; on your side let there be no intimidation by a mob of [terrorist] Circumcelliones. Let us attend to the real matter in debate, and let our arguments appeal to reason and to the authoritative teaching of the Divine Scriptures, dispassionately and calmly, so far as we are able... Again, he wrote this in 392. The collected letters of Augustine, available only in an ancient Victorian translation, at times read like documents of world-historical importance. They show him to be far more than history recognizes, and the embodiment of truth-seeking Catholicism at its best.