Reading Augustine’s Confessions
MAM HT604: Lecture 1
Dr. Ann Orlando
Outline
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Why Read Augustine’s Confessions?
Augustine’s Life and Works
Introduction to Confessions
How we will read Confessions
Background on Books I - II
Importance of Augustine
• To Western Theology and Philosophy
Augustine’s Importance Cannot Be
Overstated
• For Western Christianity, he is the most
important theologian from this period
– Arguably the most important theologian from
any period
• Every serious Western theologian after
Augustine must in some way ‘deal’ with
Augustine
• Example: Far more references to
Augustine in CCC (
Critical and Defining Issues for
Augustine
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Theodicy
Epistemology
Sacraments
Theology of Trinity
Ecclesiology
Justification
Primacy of love
Examples
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Augustine was the standard for doctrinal truth and theological method throughout the
Middle Ages
Aquinas (13th C) runs into trouble because
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Renaissance begins when Petrarch reads Confessions
Luther and Calvin claim Augustine for themselves in opposition to Scholasticism
Galileo tries to defend himself using Augustine (especially the Confessions)
Early Modernity rejects Augustine’s definition of man as part of society
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Hobbes
Locke
Enlightenment rejection of Christianity is specifically a rejection of Augustine
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He seems to abandon Augustine’s theological method (Neoplatonism) for Aristotelianism
But also because of primacy of intellect over will
Open any page of ST and see number of references to Augustine
Rousseau
Voltaire
Diderot
Existentialists of 20th C continue campaign specifically against Augustine; Albert
Camus The Plague
Charles Freeman, The Closing of the Western Mind
Recent new translations of and ‘popular’ interest in Augustine: New City Press; J.J.
O’Donnell, Garry Wills
Pope Benedict XVI has defined himself, and is often referred to as, an Augustinian
theologian
Why Read Confessions
• Because…
– Augustine is important
– One of the most read books in Western literature
– Presents many important points in theology
• Really because Augustine the Bishop and fellow
pilgrim toward the Kingdom of Heaven wants us
to learn from his spiritual journey
– Greatest theological reflection essay ever written
– This is NOT a diary or an autobiography
Introduction to Augustine
• Man of late antiquity
– Some (Copleston) see him as beginning of
Middle Ages
– Brown places him in late antiquity
Historical Background
• Late Antiquity and the Roman Empire
– Political situation
– Philosophical schools
• Status of Catholic Church
– Most potent heresy of 4th Century: Arianism
– Books of the Bible
Map of Roman Empire
www.fsmitha.com/h1/map18rm.htm
Social Situation
Fourth Century
• One of THE most important events in history happens in
4th Century: conversion of Roman Empire to Christianity
• At the beginning of the Fourth Century, worst
persecution of Christians (Emperor Diocletian)
• Constantine the Great attributes his victory at the Milvian
Bridge (312) in Rome to Christianity
– After Constantine, large numbers of people become Christians
• By the end of the century, Christianity declared official
religion of Roman Empire by Theodosius the Great (381)
Political and Military Situation
• At beginning of 4th Century, Empire united under
Diocletian and Constantine
• Throughout 4th Century civil wars among Constantine’s
sons and successors
• Theodosius the Great reunites the Empire
– Last Emperor of ‘entire’ Roman Empire
• Barbarian invasions begin in West late 4th C, key
moment is sack of Rome in 410
• Empire become divided East (capitol, Constantinople)
and West (capitol, Rome)
– Western Roman Empire ceases to exist 476
– Eastern Roman Empire ceased to exist 1453
Status of Catholic Church
• In this period, no distinction between Catholic (West) and Orthodox
(East)
• Becomes ‘politically expedient’ to join Church
• Most potent Christian heresy: Arianism
– Belief that Christ was made by Father; not divine as Father is divine
– Council of Nicea (325) called to combat Arianism; Creed
– By end of 4th Century Arianism no longer a threat within Roman Empire
• Another dangerous heresy: Donatism
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Prevalent in 4th Century North Africa
Believed in strict Christian discipline
Efficacy of sacraments depended on holiness of minister
Augustine was main foe of Donatists
Bible
• Prior to 4th Century, many different views within
Christianity about what is sacred scripture
• Old Testament in or out? Some wanted to reject Old
Testament completely
– God seems angry, vengeful, anthropomorphic
– Notion develops that creator god is evil and opposed to spiritual
good god
• Which books of New Testament? Some want to severely
restrict books, some want to include other books
• How to interpret the Bible, especially the Old Testament
(more on this next week)
– Literally
– Allegorically
Brief Biographical Sketch
• Born near Carthage in 354 to a devoutly Catholic mother
(St. Monica) and worldly father (Patrick)
• In youth leads a life of pleasure searching for happiness
– Flirts with Manichaeism
– Becomes enamored with Platonism (Plotinus)
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Conversion to Catholic Christianity
Ordained priest 391, bishop of Hippo 395
Died on 28 August 430
Peter Brown’s book Augustine of Hippo remains the
most important biography of Augustine in English
– Be sure to get the New Edition with Epilogue
– Discusses discovery of 12 previously unstudied letters and
sermons of Augustine (396-404)
What did Augustine Look Like?
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Augustine being baptized by
Benozzo Gozzoli http://www.wff.org/StAugustine.html
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Metropolitan Museum of Art
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/h
o/05/afe/ho_18.9.2.htm
Augustine’s Works
• Augustine’s friend and biographer, Possidius,
catalogued Augustine's works after his death and
observed that no one would be able to read them all
• Among the vitally important works
– Against the Academics
– On Free Will
– Confessions
– On the Trinity
– City of God
– On Christian Teaching
– Retractions concerning On Free Will
• Nearly innumerable letters, treatises, homilies,
commentaries
• Commentary, expositions, sermons on Psalms
Introduction to Confessions
• Written shortly after Augustine was named
bishop of Hippo (395-400)
• Written at the request of his friend Paulinus of
Nola; 11 years after his baptism
– It is Augustine the bishop reflecting in middle age on
events in his youth;
– It is not telling the story of his youth; it is a reflection
• The 13 Books are Augustine's divisions
– Confessions (as most books in antiquity) was
serialized
– Each of 13 Books was an installment
• Became an instant best seller
Confessions as Prayer
• Confessio: both ‘accusation of oneself and
praise for God’ Sermon 67.2
• It is first and foremost a prayer, not an
autobiography;
– The work is addressed to God
• There should be an AMEN at end of Book
XIII
Which Translation Should You
Read?
• Henry Chadwick, Oxford University Press,
1991
• Mary Boulding, New City Press, 1997
• But please do not use translation available
on the Web. It is very turgid, plotting
Victorian English.
Structure
• Division of 13 Books is Augustine’s
division
• Usually considered in two parts:
– Augustine’s past (I-IX)
– Augustine's present (X-XIII)
• NB: The last 4 books (Part 2) are an
integral part of the whole
• Later editors in 16th and 17th centuries
added chapter and paragraph numbers
Structure of Part 1
• Can be viewed as a chiasm
• 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
Structure of Part 2
• Book X: Augustine the Bishop at the end of his reflection on his
youth, meditates on
– Memory and knowledge
– Sin
• Book XI: Augustine the Bishop meditates on
– “In the beginning”
– What is Time
• Book XII: Augustine the Bishop meditates on
– “God created the heavens and the earth”
– How to interpret Scripture and authorial intent
• Book XIII: Augustine the Bishop meditates on
– Trinity
– Church
• NB: Augustine uses the word ‘confessions’ more often in these last
four than the previous nine books
Structure of Part 2
• Book X: Augustine the Bishop at the end of his reflection on his
youth, meditates on
– Memory and knowledge
– Sin
• Book XI: Augustine the Bishop meditates on
– “In the beginning”
– What is Time
• Book XII: Augustine the Bishop meditates on
– “God created the heavens and the earth”
– How to interpret Scripture and authorial intent
• Book XIII: Augustine the Bishop meditates on
– Trinity
– Church
• NB: Augustine uses the word ‘confessions’ more often in these last
four than the previous nine books
• Confessio: both ‘accusation of oneself and praise for God’ Sermon
67.2
Our Plan for Reading Confessions
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Lecture 1: Introduction
Lecture 2: Books I and II
Lecture 3: Books III and IV
Lecture 4: Books V and VI
Lecture 5: Books VII and VIII
Lecture 6: Book IX
Lecture 7: Book X
Lecture 8: Book XI and XII
Lecture 9: Book XIII
Week 10: Conclusions
Three Part Hermeneutic Approach
• Historical and philosophical background on each Book
– Historical and social context
– Intellectual movements
– People
• Key aspects of the Book itself
– Truth about human nature
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Epistemology
Language
Evil and sin
Love and Happiness
– Truth about Creation
– Truth about God
– Connections between Book understudy and other Books
• Influence of Confessions
– Impact in later intellectual history
– How does this theological reflection touch us
Another Perspective: What Is
Augustine Reading
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Book I: School books on Greek grammar, Virgil Aeneid
Book II: Sallust, Catiline
Book III: Cicero, Hortensius, and Old Testament
Book IV: Manichean texts, Aristotle
Book V: Compares Manichean texts with astronomy;
reads Academics; Ambrose explains Old Testament
Book VI: Ambrose continues to explain Old Testament;
Book VII: Platonists and Paul
Book VIII: Athanasius, Life of Antony and Paul
Book IX: Isaiah
Book X: Reading himself (memory)
Book XI, XII, XIII: Interpreting Genesis
But all now understood through Scripture, as a
theological reflection
Augustine's On Christian Teaching
• Written about the same time he wrote the Confessions
• Purpose is to describe how to interpret Scripture to arrive
at truth then to preach it
• Prolog: Addressed to opponents
• Book I: Advancing in love of God and neighbor is acid
test for understanding Scripture:
– So anyone who thinks he has understood the divine scriptures or
any part of them, but cannot by his understanding buildup this
double love of God and neighbor, has not yet succeeded in
understanding them. (I.xxvi.40.86)
• Book II: Reading Scripture, Language, Spiritual Progress
• Book III: Detailed Rules for analyzing Scripture
• Book IV: How to Preach
Assignment
• Read On Christian Teaching Prolog and
Book I
– Skim Book II
• Start one discussion thread
• Respond to two threads
Two Web Resources
• Three Volume Commentary (Latin text,
English descriptions) on Confessions by
JJ O’Donnell, http://www.stoa.org/hippo/
• Online Cliff Notes,
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/StAugustine-s-Confessions.id-166,pageNum-1.html