Abstract: Possidius, the bishop of Calama, was a life-long friend of St. Augustine's and best known for writing a biography of the bishop of Hippo, the Vita Augustini. This book analyzes both the biography and the legally-oriented career of Possidius to illustrate how active Augustine's colleagues were in soliciting imperial support against their religious competitors and to show just how often Augustine's close friends disagreed with him on important matters of law, coercion, and diplomacy. It is still widely asserted by scholars that St. Augustine dominated the theological landscape of North Africa, but this study demonstrates how often he was, in fact, singular and isolated in his beliefs.

Keywords: St. Augustine, Hippo, law, coercion, diplomacy, North Africa, Calama