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→Influence as a theologian and thinker: added reference to Ambrose
Augustine remains a central figure, both within Christianity and in the history of Western thought. Himself much influenced by Platonism and neo-Platonism, particularly by [[Plotinus]], Augustine was important to the "baptism" of Greek thought and its entrance into the Western Christian (and subsequently the European) intellectual tradition. Also important was his early and influential writing on the human will, a central topic in [[ethics]], and one which became a focus for later philosophers such as Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche, but also to the Protestant Reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin.
Augustine's writings helped formulate the developed St Ambrose of Milan's theory of [[just war]]. He also advocated the use of force against the [[Donatism|Donatists]], asking "Why . . . should not the Church use force in compelling her lost sons to return, if the lost sons compelled others to their destruction?" (''The Correction of the Donatists'', 22-24)
Augustine was [[Glorification|glorified]] by popular recognition. His [[feast day]] is [[August 28]], the day on which he died.
