You knew what I endured, but no man knew.
No. Well, that only works if scenery was the issue to begin with. But compare how he reacts to his friend's death as a young man to how he reacts to the death of his mother after he has converted. In fact, it seems like Augustine's suffering often leaves him speechless in the Confessions: it's something he bears silently and keeps to himself. (X.34.6). I learned to lament the death of Dido, who killed herself for love, while all the time, in the midst of these things, I was dying, separated from you, my God and my Life, and I shed no tears for my own plight. I could not find myself, much less find you. Ever think that a change of scenery will solve all of your problems? Wow, talk about an about-face from that last quote. He's talking about the Aeneid, the Roman epic written by the poet Virgil, which has been taught to every student of Latin since it was written around 25 BC. Jaroslav Pelikan had this to say about him,
We certainly think so.
(X.28.1).
For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. It's one thing to moan and lament till the cows come home, but Augustine can't even begin to find the words to talk about his problems with his bros. Where is all of this suffering coming from? Sure, sadness sucks, but it's not necessarily evil, unless we're dividing everything into categories of "good" and "bad." Now Augustine is talking about looking for God, and not seeing him because he himself doesn't realize the extent of his own erring. Why do we feel sad when we lose loved ones?
Also, we probably don't think of sadness and evil as having much to do with one another. The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away (Job 1:21), right? But you will free me, O Lord; I know that you will free me. The point here is that our salvation doesn't lie within ourselves and our own self-discipline, but in God's sheer mercy. My sorrows are evil and they are at strife with joys that are good, and I cannot tell which will gain the victory. Also, why does Augustine say "inner" self? So you could understand this move as either running from himself or looking for himself—or both. Is it just that we miss them? None. Does Augustine mean to say that he had given up on himself? My inner self was a house divided against itself. This little line has a cameo in T.S.
So, basically, the choice of the word "evil" is interesting here because it implies that good and bad—all good and all bad—are always in some sort of contest. Confessions Quotes Showing 1-30 of 362 “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” ― Augustine of Hippo, Confessions tags: christ, christianity, desire, god, heart, jesus, longing… (I.13.1). Those two things reside under the same metaphorical "roof." As for myself, life at Carthage was a real misery and I loathed it: but the happiness I hoped to find at Rome was not real happiness. Why can't we control our emotions? And we have to agree with him, here, because he is the one refusing to give up on sex in order to save his own soul. What exactly does it mean to be lost anyway? Does a belief in God change how we feel about it? So is he saying that love his bad?
Remember what he says in the previous two quotes about (1) not being able to escape from himself and (2) not being able to find himself? some sort of substance that floats around the world and contaminates things. Like the Splenda of the soul. And if sinning is something that we can't always stop ourselves from doing, well, no one knows more about that than Augustine. This really frames Augustine as an innocent bystander, doesn't it? Isn't that already implied? One thing that is pretty clear here is that the division Augustine feels is the rift between his earthly wants and his spiritual wants. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. The passion, transparency, and humility is breathtaking. Augustine may love him a tragic love story, but his appreciation of literature seems to distract him from a very real problem. And what is so soothing about crying during times of grief? By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from Shmoop and verify that you are over the age of 13. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser.
This passage is really an exploration of grief. With phrases like "prey to myself" and "refuge from myself," Augustine sure is making it sound like he is the cause of his own suffering. Here, he's conveying suffering through the idea of separation and isolation; but it's not just isolation from God, but isolation from himself, too. (IV.4.3). Right before this line, Augustine says that even though he has a pretty good notion of what things to avoid, this world is still full of snares.
Augustine doesn't seem to think so, so one is going to have to win out (see the next quote for info about The Big Winner). Here Augustine emphasizes the speechlessness of his suffering. (V.2.3). Even if you don’t catch the flying allusions to classical literature or philosophy, you can’t miss in Augustine’s life the luminous reflection of your own struggle to find rest in God. Whoever loves does all things without suffering, or, suffering, loves his suffering. Aside from this big, long book he wrote about his experiences. Where could my heart find refuge from itself?
If only we could turn suffering off like a light switch. “The Confessions of Saint Augustine: The Autobiography of a Prodigal Who Became a Saint”, p.36, Simon and Schuster I will not live an instant that I do not live in love.
(IV.6.1). For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Why are there always two Augustines and why are they always fighting? Even though before he was talking about not being able to escape himself.
And even more than that, why does Augustine make it sound like his heart is the one beating up itself? God's on it. Better not take too much credit for anything you do, boys and girls. Tears alone were sweet to me, for in my heart's desire they had taken the place of my friend. And we have to agree with him, here, because he is the one refusing to give up on sex in order to save his own soul. When we think of evil, we usually think of a conscious, active decision to do evil. So why does it feel that way? Is it something more?
We don't often think of evil as some sort of substance that floats around the world and contaminates things… that's closer to what the Manichees believe. Augustine is misdiagnosing his malaise; it's not Carthage that's making him miserable, but his own inadequate soul. (VII.7.2). Is it possible for them to co-exist? © 2020 Shmoop University Inc | All Rights Reserved | Privacy | Legal. That's a lot of implications for one little statement.
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