Introduction

Peter Addison: Augustine was not bitten by a radioactive spider, but by the philosophy bug. He came in the form of Cicero's dialogue, the Hortensius, which is now lost. Augustine read it as a young man while studying rhetoric, and was converted to the cause of philosophy,. Not yet to the Christian faith. The conversion narrative of the Desert Father Anthony is mentioned in the very same breath as the climactic moment of Augustine's own conversion. We are meant to see Augustine's story within the context of literature on such Christian heroes as Anthony. Thus, the reader can imagine following his path.