In Book V of the Confessions, a remarkable number of events transpire which move Augustine both geographically and spiritually. In V.i he gives us a hint of what is to come in philosophical terms: “the whole creation is never slack in thy praises”, which leads the human soul to contemplate nature, and so to raise itself up toward contemplation of God. The soul leans “itself on those things which Thou hast created” and so also passes over to “Thyself, who hast made them”. (V.i) This is the basic form of the Platonic ascent, as outlined in the Republic: we move from shadows to caused things to the cause. Augustine will find that as he learns more about nature, he will become disentangled from the Manichaeans and so will “rise” up toward God, the source and creator. There are of course echoes of natural theology and Romans 1 in here. In V.iii Augustine compares piety with the ‘natural philosophy’ of the day, liberally sprinkling his text with quotes and references from Romans 1. The philosophers examine nature, and they “discourse truly concerning the creature, but the truth, the Architect of the creature, do they not religiously seek after.” This is a theme he will repeat later in VII – the “Platonists” understand the Word as Creator, but stumble when they dismiss the Word made flesh. (VII.xx,xxi)
In V.ii Augustine begins to write of what we might call providence. The God who created has a concern for his creation, and even if the creature is morally or spiritually estranged from Him, He has not “given over” the creature. Throughout book V he repeatedly writes of incidents which cause him to slowly but surely fall off from the Manichaean heresy. [I’ll say more about these later.] In hindsight he attributes these to the principle of Providence. “Thou dealtest with me therefore, that I should be persuaded to go to Rome.” (V.viii) The geographic move to Rome was indeed providential: Augustine left behind the Manichean Bishop, Faustus, he left behind Carthage (to Carthage I came, burning, burning), and he also leaves behind his confidence in the sect to which he belonged. In his new geographical setting he meets another Bishop – Ambrose, and begins a new stage in his journey. “To him was I led by thee, unknowing, that by him I might be brought to the, knowing it.” (V.xiii) Here again Augustine writes as though it was God who was directing these “movements” in his life: from Carthage to Rome and Milan; from a bishop of the Manichees to a Bishop of the Church; from confidence in his sect to skepticism.
He begins a further questioning of things related to Scripture (V.xi) and discovers certain weaknesses in the approach to Scripture which the Manichaeans hold. He began to listen to the “speech of one Elpidius”, who argued for the Catholic interpretation and position.
And the Manichees’ answer seemed but very weak to me: they would not give their answer in public for an open hearing, but only in private, among their own followers. Namely, they said, that the Scriptures of the New Testament had been corrupted by some unknown persons…but they themselves (the Manichees) failed to produce any uncorrupted version.
V.xi
[note to self: I wonder what Augustine would have made of the Jesus Seminar?]
He has moved in place; he has moved philosophically, and now he begins to move spiritually. In all 3 of these the older Augustine, writing this text, sees the hand of God. It is a reason for hope.
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