Thursday, October 10, 2013
Why is a discussion of memory appropriate in Book X of Confessions
The discussion provided in Book X is very important because Books I-IX pertain to Augustine's memory. Books I-XI are very important to Augustine's career as a minster and to Augustine's church body because the books explain how he converted and therefore the books prove how Augustine no longer held by the bounds of sin. Also many of the ideas and topics introduced in these first nine books continue to be explored and discussed in the next four books. It is important to note that these first nine books are based completely off of Augustine's memory and are therefore subject to Augustine's "retelling". Perhaps when Augustine discusses and explores the capabilities of the mind he is also providing proof for the validity of his first nine books.
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As we mentioned in class, and as the lecture we watched suggests, a discussion of memory seems a very logical next step for a book that has employed the memory self-consciously throughout its earlier narrative. Augustine's first 9 books have already suggested to the reader that God is at work in memory through the unfolding narrative of Augustine's conversion and God's omniscient role in the life of an individual believer. Memory, is therefore, both a central theme in the text, and the mode through which Augustine's story is relayed.
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