The Summer Saint: Reflections on St. Augustine

St. Augustine of Hippo was a very intelligent man, and his Confessions offers insights into this intelligence. His book is a rather enjoyable read, for both diction and ideas. After reading chapters 2-3 of Confessions, there are a couple of points that stand out. Specifically, his explanation of the vices was very interesting. More generally, his view on education also give cause for reflection.

At the bottom of page 38, and the top of page 39, Augustine begins describing how, “Vice always fall short of its aim” (Augustine 38). Augustine makes a very viable claim here. He displays, through glorious diction, that every vice seeks to make man something that only God can truly embody. For example, he states that “Ambition seeks nothing but honours and glory, whereas you alone are worthy of honour above all things, and your glory endures for ever” (Augustine 38). Men with ambition want prestige, but they often forget that any “honors” they acquire are insignificant and meaningless compared to the infinite glory of God. This is a wonderful truth, and yet so easy to forget. So are the truths described by Augustine in this section. Although these truths are easy to forget, Augustine’s method of describing these truths causes them to become profound again. His diction calls attention to the glory of God, by first describing the “vice” and then contrasting it to the Godly equivalent.

              In Book 2 of his Confessions, St. Augustine describes his descent into immorality during his adolescence. He explains that his education focused on making him intelligent rather than encouraging his morals. He describes how he began to enjoy sin for the sake of sin, and recalls an instance of stealing pears for the pleasure of doing something wrong. The implications here are that a classical education alone does not provide morals. This is in contrast to Plato’s proposition that good philosopher-kings simply require education. Plato believes that education instills morals, while Augustine asserts that his education damaged his soul more than corrected it. How are these views to be reconciled?

              Perhaps Augustine’s education did not follow the format prescribed by Plato. It is possible that Augustine’s teachers were themselves immoral, and this influenced Augustine to take a bad turn. That is not to say that Augustine was unintelligent and incapable of deciding his own views, but the influence of teachers and peers should not be discounted. C.S. Lewis says something that may shed some light on this subject. He says that, “Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil” (Lewis, The Abolition of Man). Thus, education can be either good or bad depending on if values are instilled. So when Plato says that education makes a man good, the education process must teach good values as well as mathematics and astronomy. Therefore, Augustine’s education must have been education without virtue, for he certainly describes himself as simply a ‘more clever devil’ as a result of his education. According to Augustine, his teachers did not care what he was arguing for, so long as he argued well. To some extent, it is good for teachers to allow students to think what they want so long as they express it well. However, as Aristotle says, this must not go to the extreme. Education can be good if it teaches how to care for your fellow man, as well as how to debate him.