Yesterday we kept the feast of St Monica, today that of her son, St Augustine, and for once I feel too daunted to write about either. It must be the weather. There is a good summary of Augustine's life and work here. For us as Benedictines, of course, the short work known as the Rule of St Augustine is an important source for the Rule of St Benedict, but my guess is that most people know Augustine from his "Confessions" or short extracts in the Divine Office. The two works which fascinate me most are "The City of God", which I read for the first time during Tripos (a distraction), and "De Trinitate", which only began to make sense when I encountered modern physics. That is the problem with Augustine: he is one of the most difficult as he is one of the easiest early Christian writers. Had he lived in this century, no doubt he would be constantly popping up on radio and television to give thoughtful and eloquent responses to questions of the day.