How Did Augustine Use Rhetoric

At the age of 12, Aurelius Augustinus was sent away to Carthage by his parents to get a better education. On November 13, 354 A.D, Aurelius Augustinus, also known as Saint Augustine, was born to Saint Monica, a Christian, and Patricius Aurelius, a pagan, in Thagaste, Numidia. As an adolescent, Augustine stole pears from his neighbor’s tree with the rough crowd. Soon after, his father fell ill and passed away. At the age of 17, through the generosity of his fellow citizens, Augustine went to Carthage to continue his education in rhetoric. It was while he was a student in Carthage that he read Cicero's dialogue Hortensius, which is now lost. Although raised as a Christian, Augustine left the church to follow the Manichaean religion, much to his mother's despair. Augustine lived a hedonistic lifestyle
Augustine taught grammar at Thagaste during 373 and 374. The following year he moved to Carthage to conduct a school of rhetoric and would remain there for the next nine years. Disturbed by unwell behaved students in Carthage, he moved to establish a school in Rome, where he believed the best and brightest rhetoricians practiced, in 383. However, Augustine was disappointed with the apathetic reception. It was the custom for students to pay their fees to the professor on the last day of the term, and many students attended faithfully all term, and then did not pay him. In the summer of 386, at the age of 31, Augustine converted to Christianity. In 391, Augustine was ordained a priest in Hippo Regius, in Algeria. He became a famous preacher, and was noted for combating the Manichaean religion. Augustine worked tirelessly in trying to convince the people of Hippo to convert to Christianity. Though he had left his monastery, he continued to lead a monastic life in the episcopal residence. Saint Augustine passed away on August 28, 430 at Hippo Regius,