Reading Augustine’s
Confessions
Lecture 3: Books III and IV
Dr. Ann T. Orlando
Books III and IV
 Historical
context
 Reading the Text
 Influence
Historical Background
 Cicero
 Rhetoric
as a career
 Aristotle
 Theodicy
problem
 Manicheans
 Early Understanding of Scripture
Cicero
106 – 43 BC

Great Roman rhetorician



Philosophical influences on Cicero



Engaged in Republican politics
Engaged in philosophy
New Academy: Platonism with an emaphsis on
skepticism
Stoicism: Belief in providence, natural law
Impact on Augustine



Hortensius or Exhortation to Philosophy (now lost)
On Friendship
On the Orator and other works on rhetoric
Philosophy as a Way of Life

Various philosophical schools in antiquity were dedicated
to showing people (adults) how to lead their lives







Not like contemporary academic studies
More like a ‘spiritual’ movement or religion
Some Romans in 1st and 2nd Century thought Christianity was a
type of philosophical school
Emphasized virtues, control of self
Explored relation between individual and society and
divine
Encouraged philosophical ‘exercises’
Almost all serious philosophical work done in Greek
Rhetoric as a Career
 Rhetorician
was the most important
profession in ancient Roman life


Politics
Business
 Art
of persuasion was critical to Roman
society

But what is relation to truth?
Aristotle
384 – 322 BC


Student of Plato, teacher of Alexander the Great
Founded his own philosophical school (Peripatetics)



A few of most important works








Very interested in material world
Concerned with systematizing knowledge
Categories
On Interpretation
Prior and Posterior Analytics
Physics
Metaphysics
Ethics
Politics
Most important philosopher in Middle Ages
Theodicy Problem
 Simply
stated: If there is an omniscient
and omnipotent good creator God, how
can there be evil and suffering in the world
 Possible ‘logical’ solutions:



God did not create the world
Or God is not omniscient and omnipotent
Or the creator God is not a good God
Astrology in Antiquity
 Movement
of stars controlled people and
the course of history
 Knowing precisely how stars and planets
moved very important
 Deep belief that celestial regions beyond
the moon were unchanging, therefore
more like spirit than matter

Therefore Manichaeism placed great
importance in astrology
Mani
215 - 277

Persian, founder of Manichaeism


Synchristic combination of Gnostic and Montanist
Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism:


“As once Buddha came to India, Zoroaster to Persia, and Jesus
to the lands of the West, so came in the present time, this
prophecy through me, the Mani, to the land of Babylonia"
Very potent, well organized religion




Mani considered himself reincarnation of Apostle Paul and/or
incarnation of Holy Spirit
Manicheans is China
Lasted for over a Millennium (Dominicans founded to combat
Cathars, a Manichean sect is 13th C)
Accepts some aspects of NT
‘Martyred’ by Persians
Main Points of Manichaeism
 Solve
the theodicy problem by saying that
there are two gods: one evil, one good
 Material world associated with evil god
 Special knowledge comes from good god;
only available to initiated Manicheans



Exclusive, elite community
Celibate
Vegetarians
 Canon
includes parts of NT,
Zoroastrianism and works of Mani
Canon of Scripture

Canon is from Greek for ruler or measuring stick




For early Christian the correct canon of Scripture was a
major debate




In Latin regula
The ruler by which we should measure ourselves
Many philosophical schools had ‘canons’
Old Testament in or out
Which parts of the New Testament were in or out
Other apocryphal works in or out
In all cases, early Christians relied on Greek Old
Testament, the Septuagint
 Augustine was probably reading from what is now known
as the Old Latin Bible
Confessions Structure
Augustine's Reflection on His Past
Book I: From God; birth and relationship of infant with mother

Book II: Bondage of Flesh
• Book III: Slavery of eyes and mind; problem of evil


Book IV Ambition of World
• Book V Encounter with Faustus, Manichaeism, philosophy;
moving from Carthage to Rome
Book VI: Recognition of emptiness of world’s ambition
• Book VII: Freedom of mind; resolution of problem of evil

Book VIII: Liberation from bondage of flesh
Book IX: Relation to Monica, her death, return to God
Augustine’s Present
Book X: Memory
Book XI: Time
Book XII: Interpreting Scripture
Book XIII: Trinity and Church
Book III Outline
and lust III.1.1 – III.iii.5
 Augustine at School III.iii.6
 Reading Cicero and Scripture III.iv.7 –
III.v.9
 Joining the Manicheans III.vi.10 – III.x.18
 Monica’s reaction III.xi.19 – III.xii.21
 Love
Book III
Love and lust III.i.1 – III.iii.5
 “I
was in love with love…”
 Vicarious experiences of love at theatre
 Note relation between love and suffering

Right and wrong loves, right and wrong
sufferings
 Early
encounter with a girl in Church
Book III
School and Bullies III.iii.6
 Augustine


But in retrospect Augustine does not have
much respect for his profession
Art of deceiving people
 Wreckers


was the best student in rhetoric
– a fraternity of bullies
But who are they wrecking first and foremost
Even at the time, Augustine not influenced by
them

Book III
Reading Cicero and Scripture
III.iv.7 – III.v.9
Cicero’s book Hortensius deeply influenced
Augustine




Old Testament was a great disappointment




Encouraged him to read philosophy
Helped him to pray better
But name of Christ not contained in Cicero
Poor style
Book of the simple people
God as anthropomorphic
In Book VIII, Augustine will also return to
philosophy and Jesus Christ
Book III
Joining the Manicheans III.vi.10 –
III.x.18

Manicheans seemed to solve many problems for
Augustine




Exaggerated truth claims
Elite membership
Theodicy problem
Note discussion of justice and relation for human
justice and natural law


Address issue of why Old Testament Patriarchs could
engage in behavior not now allowed
Clearly this must have been a Manichee argument
against the Old Testament
 At
Book III
Monica’s reaction III.11.19 –
III.12.21
first Monica refuses to let Augustine in
the house

But relents
 In
a dream she sees her and Augustine
standing on the same rule (canon)

Note how Augustine wants to interpret the
dream
 Importance
of Monica’s prayers
 Note advice of bishop to Monica
Book IV Outline
the young teacher IV.i.1 – IV.ii.2
 Looking for truth in astrology IV.iii.4 –
IV.iii.6
 Lover and friends IV.ii.2 – IV.iv.8
 Grief over loss IV.iv.9 – IV.xii.18
 Worldly ambition IV.xiii.20 – IV.xv.27
 Reading Aristotle IV.xvi.28 – IV.xvi.31
 Augustine
Augustine the young teacher
IV.i.1 – IV.ii.2

Age 19 to 28
 Taught rhetoric



Takes on a common-law wife (unnamed)



Note effort to not teach how to convict an innocent
man
Okay to defend a guilty one
Sex
Didn’t want children
Note continuing discussion of love and marriage
in Book VI
Looking for Truth in Astrology
IV.iii.4 – IV.iii.6
 Looking
back on his interest in astrology
Augustine finds biggest fault with it that it
takes away human free will

Stars and planets determine everything
 Importance
of others to help Augustine
see the truth


Old man (Vindicianus)
Nebredius
Friend and Death
IV.iv.7 – IV.xii.19

“I had come to have a friend because our shared interest
was very close…”



Friend is baptized when ill and completely changes his
view of Christianity


Rebukes Augustine for wanting to make fun of his Baptism
Friend dies



Friend is unnamed
Initially shares Augustine's views of Christaianity
Powerful description of grief
Powerful meditation on friendship, love, God
Note how different (and similar) Augustine's reaction will
be at Monica’s death in Book IX
Worldly ambition IV.xiii.20 –
IV.xv.27
 Note
how throughout his early years, false
love and worldly ambition are linked for
Augustine
 Dedicates his book to someone he does
not know



Famous orator, Hierius, a type of celebrity
‘Loves’ him because of his fame
Augustine seems almost to be talking about
gossip magazines (IV.xiv.23)
Reading Aristotle
IV.xvi.28 – IV.xvi.31
 The
Categories did not live up to
greatness promised by his teachers
 Too easy; Augustine easily grasped it
 God could not be described using
Aristotle's categories
Future Influence
 Theodicy
and Scripture– more in Book VII
 Rejection of Aristotle
Philosophy and Christianity

Ancient question, posed by North African
theologian Tertullian, “What has Athens to do
with Jerusalem?”
 Augustine championed the use of philosophical
tools to help one progress in knowledge of
Christianity
 However, not all philosophical tools or methods
are equally useful
 Augustine will specifically champion use of
Neoplatonism more about this in Book VII
Christian Theology and Aristotle

For the most part, Augustine’s approach to
theology was the standard until the 13th Century


Aristotle not much read
Poor Latin translations
In 13th C new manuscripts of Aristotle became
available in the West along with Jewish
(Maimonides) and Muslim (Averroes)
commentaries
 Dominicans, St Albert the Great and his student
St. Thomas Aquinas

Aquinas and Aristotle
For Aquinas, Aristotle was ‘The Philosopher’
 Provided the method and language in which to
do theology




The Categories, among other works very important
for this
Theology that starts with considering how we might
know God from his creation
Aquinas had to strongly defend this approach
Assignments
 Read
carefully Confessions Books III and
IV
 Brown, Augustine of Hippo, Chapters 4, 5,
and 6
 Post one long paragraph by Friday June
11
 Post two responses by Sunday June 13
 Teaching Christianity Book IV (optional)