LETTERS OF ST. AUGUSTINE. [LET. L venerable name,— it seems to me that men (those, at least, whom the teaching o f the Academicians has, through the subtlety o f the terms in w hich it was expressed, deterred from attem pting to tmderstand its actual meaning) shoidd be brought back to the hope of discovering the truth, le st that w hich was then for the tim e useful in eradicating obstinate error, should begin now to hinder the casting in of the seeds o f true knowledge. 2. In that age the studies o f contending schools of philo­ sophers were pursued w ith such ardour, that th e one thing to be feared was the possibility o f error being approved. For every one who had been driven by the arguments of the sceptical philosophers from a position which he had supposed to be impregnable, set himseK to seek some other in its stead, w ith a perseverance and caution corresponding to the greater industry which w as characteristic of the men of that tim e, and the strength of the persuasion then prevaihng, that truth, though deep and hard to be deciphered, does lie hidden in the nature of things and of the human mind. Now, however, such is the indisposition to strenuous exertion, and the indif­ ference to th e liberal arts, that so soon as it is noised abroad that, in the opinion of the m ost acute philosophers, truth is unattainable, m en send their m inds to sleep, and cover them up for ever. For they presume not, forsooth, to imagine, them selves to be so superior in discernment to those great men, that th ey shall find out what, during his singularly long life, Cameades, w ith aU his diligence, talents, and leisure, besides-his extensive and varied learning, failed to discover. A nd if, contending somewhat against indolence, they rouse them selves so far as to read those books in w hich it is, as it' were, proved that the perception of truth is denied to man, they relapse into lethargy so profound, that not even by the heavenly trum pet can they be aroused. 3. "V^erefore, although I accept w ith the greatest pleasure your candid estim ate o f m y brief treatise, and esteem you so m uch as to rely not less on the 'sagacity o f your judgm ent than on the sincerity o f your friendship, I beg you to give more particular attention to one point, and to w rite me again concerning it,— namely, whether you approve of that which, in