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Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, Roman prefect, was everything Rome admired: wealthy, eloquent, a born leader. He was also a dedicated pagan at a time when paganism was on the wane.

The Roman empire at this time tolerated paganism, but Christianity was clearly the rising star among religions. Symmachus, a conservative aristocrat, tried to fight this trend, but he was outmaneuvered by his powerful cousin: Ambrose, bishop of Milan.

Ambrose persuaded the Roman emperor Gratian to remove the Altar of Victory from the Roman senate chamber—an obvious slap at Rome's pagan past. The senate sent Symmachus to plead with the emperor to replace the altar. Though eloquent (his style evoked comparisons with Cicero and Pliny), Symmachus failed in his mission.

Symmachus's clout was sufficient, however, to give Augustine's career an early boost. In 384 a government position as teacher of rhetoric in Milan was open, and some of Augustine's Manichee friends told Symmachus of the eloquent young teacher. "Symmachus … set me a test to satisfy himself of my abilities," Augustine recalled, and the young rhetorician won the post easily.

While in Milan Augustine came under the influence of Ambrose, which put him at odds with his former benefactor. However, no real conflict materialized because the two never met again after 384.

Petilian could have been remembered as a lawyer and bishop of Cirta, but instead he is known as a chief advocate for Donatism—and a major opponent of Augustine.

Donatists believed that the church's holiness was dependent on purity; sacraments administered by impure clergy (especially those who had buckled under persecution) didn't count. In contrast, Catholics stressed the church's unity, and because the Donatists sought to separate themselves from other "tainted" Christians, Augustine and others felt they must be stopped.

Petilian and Augustine traded barbs in several public letters. In Epistle to the Elders in 400, Petilian claimed that the Donatists were the true church. He threw Augustine's pre-Christian past in his face, calling him "priest of the Manichees," conjurer, and adulterer (for his years with a concubine).

Augustine, in Against the Letters of Petilian, countered that, until the end of history, "The time will not come for the church as a whole when it will be utterly without spot or wrinkle." In the meantime, it is the job of "constant, diligent, and prudent ministers of Christ" to excommunicate immoral priests. Therefore, there was no excuse for "the enemies of Christian unity throughout the world" to perpetuate the schism.

In 411, at a council held in Carthage, Petilian spoke long and eloquently to defend Donatism. When his side was clearly losing, he tried to have the council adjourn, claiming he had a sore throat (which was probably true).

Soon afterward, Donatism was officially outlawed, but Petilian worked to keep the movement united. He disappeared from the scene after 415.

Pelagius, a large man of athletic build, was Celtic-British by birth and became a popular teacher in Rome in the late fourth century. A moralist, he was deeply concerned with Christians' actions and worried that a pessimistic view of human nature might discourage people from attempting to behave rightly.

He was particularly distressed by Augustine's prayer, "Command what you will, and give what you command," as this seemed to reduce humanity to a race of puppets. Pelagius insisted that humans have a free will and are thus responsible to make good choices; grace is bestowed "to make the fulfillment of God's commands easier."

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