Augustine's Negative Portrayal of Himself
Augustine shares some interesting facts about himself in his books. They are all negatives, or at least a large portion of them represent his negative side. Reading his confessions, one may be inclined to believe that Augustine was more interested in portraying the dark side of human beings than in dwelling on the positive side that we might imitate. He is certain, however, that in this life there are those who are pure of heart as well as those who have struggled with sins, most notably the temptation of the flesh. Augustine is among those who were terribly affected by sins and later on confessed and changed his ways. From his narratives, it seems he was trying to point out in some way how we should live as human beings who are short of glory and prone to sins. For this assignment, a major focus will be put on Augustine Confessions in Book 2 chapter 4-9.
Chapter Four: An Unjustified Act
Chapter four of these book talks of an unjustified act done by Augustine. They raided a neighbor's orchard at night and stole fruits, precisely pears (Augustine, 53, 2, 9). But the issue is not about stealing the fruits; the author states that they were not motivated by the act of stealing, but the feeling brought about by that act. It is quite absurd to imagine that someone can utterly enjoy stealing. To justify their intentions, they did not even eat the stolen fruits but threw them away for the pigs to feast on them. Here we can deduce that he was much driven by the self-interest. All he was trying to do was to full fill the desires of his soul. It is only that the way he chose to get that fulfillment is questionable. When the heart is misdirected by the earthly things, then the soul separates or moves further away from God. Some questions are arising from this act. We may ask ourselves that could Augustine have stolen the fruits if he was alone. Could there be a possibility he was influenced by his peers? And does this mean he was describing himself in this act just to showcase the part or role our peers play in deviating our characters? The confession teaches a lot about how people should live in a Godly way by castigating the wrong deeds of Augustine.
Chapter Five: The Lowest Good
In chapter five of the same book Augustine dwells more on the earthly possessions. People tend to like these good things. In fact, life itself is full of shiny possessions that amaze the heart. But according to him, they are of the lowest good or quality (Augustine, 52, 2, 11). By this, he meant that it should not be viewed in how it adds flavor to life but how it brings people closer to God. These good things do not always bring any good, but instead, they distract us from God. God is the nicest thing according to him, and people should strive to know him. Similarly, apart from lust for possession, Augustine lists all the things that prompt people to sin in Chapter six of the book. Among them are pride, lust, cruelty, and inquisitiveness (Augustine, 53, 2, 12). He asserts that it all these things are not necessary if one has God. In chapter seven, he thanks God for forgiving him both the seams he had committed together with the one he never committed (Augustine, 56,2, 16-17). We learn from this confession that we should always thank God for everything because he is laws there for us. Chapter eight and nine, he is puzzled by the act he did earlier on of stealing pears from neighbor's orchard.
Reflections on Augustine's Confessions
From these confessions, a lot of sense is portrayed. The writer knows that there are a lot of things that poisons our lives. Among them are bad friends who bring bad influences to our lives. Together with his peers, he was able to steal fruits from their neighbors far. This is not the right way to live according to the ways of God. In addition to that, material things are problematic in human lives. People are striving to satisfy those needs. In those attempts, they do not consider if the method used offends others. It then leads to increased cruelty, pride, and lust. Every crime in human life has a motive behind it. Stealing the pears was motivated by self-interest need to feel good by doing the act. Misdirected love from other things always results in lust which may tempt someone to do some crazy things. It is this lust and desires that drive people into sinning. People try to be self-sufficient just like God but failing that their powers are limited. Therefore, the writer tackled important issues that are discouraged from our lives if we want to lead a life in God's ways. Shunning from those disastrous roots of sins including lust, pride, cruelty, and inquisitiveness could be the best way people should live and coexist.
Works Cited
Augustine, E. B. "The Confessions of St. Augustine." (1907).
