Readings in the History of Christian Theology, Volume 1, Revised Edition: From Its Beginnings to the Eve of the Reformation by William C. Placher & Derek R. Nelson

Author:William C. Placher & Derek R. Nelson [Placher, William C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781611646139
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Published: 2015-08-19T04:00:00+00:00

Book 3

Chapter 1. 1. I came to Carthage, where a caldron of unholy loves was seething and bubbling all around me. I was not in love as yet, but I was in love with love; and, from a hidden hunger, I hated myself for not feeling more intensely a sense of hunger. I was looking for something to love, for I was in love with loving, and I hated security and a smooth way, free from snares. Within me I had a dearth of that inner food which is thyself, my God—although that dearth caused me no hunger. And I remained without any appetite for incorruptible food—not because I was already filled with it, but because the emptier I became the more I loathed it. Because of this my soul was unhealthy; and, full of sores, it exuded itself forth, itching to be scratched by scraping on the things of the senses [Job 2:7, 8]. Yet, had these things no soul, they would certainly not inspire our love.

To love and be loved was sweet to me, and all the more when I gained the enjoyment of the body of the person I loved. Thus I polluted the spring of friendship with the filth of concupiscence and I dimmed its luster with the slime of lust. Yet, foul and unclean as I was, I still craved, in excessive vanity, to be thought elegant and urbane. And I did fall precipitately into the love I was longing for. My God, my mercy, with how much bitterness didst thou, out of thy infinite goodness, flavor that sweetness for me! For I was not only beloved but also I secretly reached the climax of enjoyment; and yet I was joyfully found with troublesome ties, so that I could be scourged with the burning iron rods of jealousy, suspicion, fear, anger, and strife.

Fifteen years after that trip to Carthage, with a mistress and an illegitimate son, Augustine was still struggling with his passions. He had moved to Rome and then to Milan, where he was deeply influenced by the preaching of its bishop, Ambrose. By this point he wanted to become a Christian, but full commitment came hard. On the crucial day he was sitting in a garden with his friend Alypius.

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