He was a lifelong friend of Augustine of Hippo and joined him in his conversion (in 386; Confessions 8.12.28) and life in Christianity.

Alypius came from an aristocratic family of Thagaste, a small town in the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis.

Alypius admired the Manichees’ strict decrees on chastity,[3] and believed that marriage would interfere with the search for wisdom with his friends.

One commonly cited event, from the Confessions (6.8.13) concerns the young Alypius, who had extremely strong moral beliefs, being taken by friends to watch violent Roman games in the arena.

[7] The following year, he wrote Paulinus of Nola, requesting a copy of Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History.

Paulinus, who was interested in what Alypius believed and taught, requested some particulars of his life.