Following his conversion, Augustine has decided not to withdraw from public life immediately, not wanting to appear vain. He decides to resign his teaching job after an upcoming vacation period, and a chest illness gives him a further excuse to retire. Verecundus is upset that he cannot withdraw from public life because he is married, but he dies not long afterward as a baptized Christian. Nebridius also is baptized soon after Augustine, and he, too, dies soon after. Before that time, however, the friends set out for Verecundus' country estate, where they spend the vacation period studying scripture and philosophy. When the vacation is over, Augustine notifies Ambrose that he wants to be baptized. Alypius joins him in baptism, as does Adeodatus, Augustine's son; Adeodatus dies a few years later. Discussing how much the music of the church moved him, Augustine explains how Ambrose resisted a siege by Empress Justina while the faithful chanted psalms.
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