“An individual who does not have a focus or direction to pursue with their precious time will never know what it is like to live their best life.” - me. Augustine shows an uptick in his mindset as it begins changing between books V and VI. For a couple of decades, he pursued what he thought was the truth of life in various other pleasures and/or philosophies. In Book V we see him take his search of the truth to Faustus, a renowned speaker and communicator of Manichean philosophy and teaching, who is said to have known and read about the different views on life and how exactly it is that the Manichean view is different from other “false” teachings. What Augustine finds however, is a disappointing revelation:
"As soon as the opportunity arose I and some of my friends claimed his attention at a time when a private discussion would not be inappropriate. I mentioned some of my doubts, but soon discovered that except for a rudimentary knowledge of literature he had no claims to scholarship. . . As soon as it became clear to me that Faustus was quite uninformed about the subjects in which I had expected him to be an expert, I began to lose hope that he could lift the veil and resolve the problems which perplexed me.” (Augustine, 98).
The very nature of philosophy apparently puts a Manichee on defense straight out of the gate in conversation, and potentially makes them not even want to discuss deeper subjects at all. Now I am by no means an expert on morality or philosophy, but a philosophical-natured religion that fears philosophy?! That just blares a warning of misguidance that minds such as Augustine’s simply can’t ignore. As a result, while Book VI explores Augustine and his findings with Catholicism, Augustine is understandably hesitant to fully commit to the faith before he attends numerous services and learns to interpret the bible in a less literal sense. He notes that he misconstrued the teaching that humanity was made in God’s image (114-115), and at least seems open to the idea of the Church. I am truly baffled at how much hypocrisy Augustine has had to decipher in order to just get some straight answers from teachers. Whether it be in the schools he attended as a boy, or the philosophical groups or other religions he was a part of at some point, Augustine clearly had a longing for truth and answers in his youth that only God could satisfy.
p.s. I commented on Haylee Lynd's and Kaitlyn's posts.
I really enjoyed how you made the connection between the Manichees and their fear of philosophy. I had not really thought of it that way!
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