Insight
Topic 1: Augustnnes tnaching on Human Naturen
Background informaton (P248 – P249)
Augustnnes lifn 5e4AD-450AD (P2e0)
Book – Confessions (between 397 and 400AD) outlinns his lifn
Born in North Africa to a devout Catholic mother (educated about Christanitt) and merchant father
Top of class at Carthage but called it ‘hissing cauldron of lust’ – disappointed
Learnt 2 imporetant things:
Read Cicero’s Hortensius – dncidnd to puresun wisdom – found Bible full of contradictons
Met Manichnans (hated Catholics) – provided answers his questons and he believed them
(a) Manicheism (P250-P251)
Dualist – believed suffnreing and nvil in thn woreld arennet causnd by ood – bt lower evil power:
World is battlnfinld between light and darkness
Higher human soul is partcle of light treappnd in the material bodt – needs to be liberated and
returned to Greater Light
Lower human soul creavns dnlight of matnreial woreld
Rnlnasn can bn threough preay nre and abstnence from all enootment of evil
He later took a mistress – other men had several
Formatve experience and he makes reference to powerful pstchological efects of sex in
later writngs
1
Topic 1: Augustnnes tnaching on Human Naturen
Background informaton (P248 – P249)
Augustnnes lifn 5e4AD-450AD (P2e0)
Book – Confessions (between 397 and 400AD) outlinns his lifn
Born in North Africa to a devout Catholic mother (educated about Christanitt) and merchant father
Top of class at Carthage but called it ‘hissing cauldron of lust’ – disappointed
Learnt 2 imporetant things:
Read Cicero’s Hortensius – dncidnd to puresun wisdom – found Bible full of contradictons
Met Manichnans (hated Catholics) – provided answers his questons and he believed them
(a) Manicheism (P250-P251)
Dualist – believed suffnreing and nvil in thn woreld arennet causnd by ood – bt lower evil power:
World is battlnfinld between light and darkness
Higher human soul is partcle of light treappnd in the material bodt – needs to be liberated and
returned to Greater Light
Lower human soul creavns dnlight of matnreial woreld
Rnlnasn can bn threough preay nre and abstnence from all enootment of evil
He later took a mistress – other men had several
Formatve experience and he makes reference to powerful pstchological efects of sex in
later writngs
1
