In God's searching presence, Augustine undertakes to plumb the depths of his
memory to trace the mysterious pilgrimage of grace which his life has been--and
to praise God for his constant and omnipotent grace. In a mood of sustained
prayer, he recalls what he can of his infancy, his learning to speak, and his
childhood experiences in school. He concludes with a paean of grateful praise
to God.
He concentrates here on his sixteenth year, a year of idleness,
lust, and adolescent mischief. The memory of stealing some pears prompts a deep
probing of the motives and aims of sinful acts. "I became to myself a
wasteland."
The story of his student days in Carthage, his discovery of
Cicero's Hortensius, the enkindling of his philosophical interest, his
infatuation with the Manichean heresy, and his mother's dream which foretold
his eventual return to the true faith and to God.
This is the story of his years among the Manicheans. It includes
the account of his teaching at Tagaste, his taking a mistress, the attractions
of astrology, the poignant loss of a friend which leads to a searching analysis
of grief and transience. He reports on his first book, De pulchro et
apto, and his introduction to Aristotle's Categories and other books
of philosophy and theology, which he mastered with great ease and little
profit.
A year of decision. Faustus comes to Carthage and Augustine is
disenchanted in his hope for solid demonstration of the truth of Manichean
doctrine. He decides to flee from his known troubles at Carthage to troubles
yet unknown at Rome. His experiences at Rome prove disappointing and he applies
for a teaching post at Milan. Here he meets Ambrose, who confronts him as an
impressive witness for Catholic Christianity and opens out the possibilities of
the allegorical interpretation of Scripture. Augustine decides to become a
Christian catechumen.
Turmoil in the twenties. Monica follows Augustine to Milan and
finds him a catechumen in the Catholic Church. Both admire Ambrose but
Augustine gets no help from him on his personal problems. Ambition spurs and
Alypius and Nebridius join him in a confused quest for the happy life.
Augustine becomes engaged, dismisses his first mistress, takes another, and
continues his fruitless search for truth.
The conversion to Neoplatonism. Augustine traces his growing
disenchantment with the Manichean conceptions of God and evil and the dawning
understanding of God's incorruptibility. But his thought is still bound by his
materialistic notions of reality. He rejects astrology and turns to the stud of
Neoplatonism. There follows an analysis of the differences between Platonism
and Christianity and a remarkable account of his appropriation of Plotinian
wisdom and his experience of a Plotinian ecstasy. From this, he comes finally
to the diligent study of the Bible, especially the writings of the apostle
Paul. His pilgrimage is drawing toward its goal, as he begins to know Jesus
Christ and to be drawn to him in hesitant faith.
Conversion to Christ. Augustine is deeply impressed by
Simplicianus' story of the conversion to Christ of the famous orator and
philosopher, Marius Victorinus. He is stirred to emulate him, but finds himself
still enchained by his incontinence and preoccupation with worldly affairs. He
is then visited by a court official, Ponticianus, who tells him and Alypius the
stories of the conversion of Anthony and also of two imperial "secret service
agents." These stories throw him into a violent turmoil, in which his divided
will struggles against himself. He almost succeeds in making the decision for
continence, but is still held back. Finally, a child's song, overheard by
chance, sends him to the Bible; a text from Paul resolves the crisis; the
conversion is a fact. Alypius also makes his decision, and the two inform the
rejoicing Monica.
The end of the autobiography. Augustine tells of his resigning
from his professorship and of the days at Cassiciacum in preparation for
baptism. He is baptized together with Adeodatus and Alypius. Shortly
thereafter, they start back for Africa. Augustine recalls the ecstasy he and
his mother shared in Ostia and then reports her death and burial and his grief.
The book closes with a moving prayer for the souls of Monica, Patricius, and
all his fellow citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem.
From autobiography to self-analysis. Augustine turns from his
memories of the past to the inner mysteries of memory itself. In doing so, he
reviews his motives for these written "confessions," and seeks to chart the
path by which men come to God. But this brings him into the intricate analysis
of memory and its relation to the self and its powers. This done, he explores
the meaning and mode of true prayer. In conclusion, he undertakes a detailed
analysis of appetite and the temptations to which the flesh and the soul are
heirs, and comes finally to see how necessary and right it was for the Mediator
between God and man to have been the God-Man.
The eternal Creator and the Creation in time. Augustine ties
together his memory of his past life, his present experience, and his ardent
desire to comprehend the mystery of creation. This leads him to the questions
of the mode and time of creation. He ponders the mode of creation and shows
that it was de nihilo and involved no alteration in the being of God. He
then considers the question of the beginning of the world and time and shows
that time and creation are cotemporal. But what is time? To this Augustine
devotes a brilliant analysis of the subjectivity of time and the relation of
all temporal process to the abiding eternity of God. From this, he prepares to
turn to a detailed interpretation of Gen. 1:1, 2.
The mode of creation and the truth of Scripture. Augustine
explores the relation of the visible and formed matter of heaven and earth to
the prior matrix from which it was formed. This leads to an intricate analysis
of "unformed matter" and the primal "possibility" from which God created,
itself created de nihilo. He finds a reference to this in the
misconstrued Scriptural phrase "the heaven of heavens." Realizing that his
interpretation of Gen. 1:1, 2, is not self-evidently the only possibility,
Augustine turns to an elaborate discussion of the multiplicity of perspectives
in hermeneutics and, in the course of this, reviews the various possibilities
of true interpretation of his Scripture text. He emphasizes the importance of
tolerance where there are plural options, and confidence where basic Christian
faith is concerned.
The mysteries and allegories of the days of creation. Augustine
undertakes to interpret Gen. 1:2-31 in a mystical and allegorical
fashion so as to exhibit the profundities of God's power and wisdom and love.
He is also interested in developing his theories of hermeneutics on his
favorite topic: creation. He finds the Trinity in the account of creation and
he ponders the work of the Spirit moving over the waters. In the firmament he
finds the allegory of Holy Scripture and in the dry land and bitter sea he
finds the division between the people of God and the conspiracy of the
unfaithful. He develops the theme of man's being made in the image and likeness
of God. He brings his survey to a climax and his confessions to an end with a
meditation on the goodness of all creation and the promised rest and
blessedness of the eternal Sabbath, on which God, who is eternal rest,
"rested."
