We bring evil onto ourselves because we actively choose corruptible elements of the physical world rather than the eternal, perfect forms, which are spiritual. Augustine discusses his infancy, which he knows only from the report of his parents. Augustine's Confessions is a diverse blend of autobiography, philosophy, theology, and critical exegesis of the Christian Bible. Context for Book II Quotes. Here, Augustine gives his mother, Monica, credit for his salvation. A. Study Guide Full Text Flashcards. Augustine attributes his mother's piety to God rather than to her parents and upbringing, and tells us about this super strict old nanny she had. Augustine sets out to fully vindicate his faith and explain as much of the tenets of Christianity in the context of philosophy as possible. A year later, Augustine was back in Roman Africa living in a monastery at Tagaste, his native town. He no longer wanted to teach and wanted to abandon all his. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1938. Augustine notes he is the best student at the. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Selected Works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and what it means. Book II. An important meaning of confession is to put oneself in the proximity of God, through praise, and to inspire others to do so with one's profession and confession. He no longer wanted to teach and wanted to abandon all his. Augustine is moved by the story of Victorinus, but his old life has become a habit he cannot break. Volusianus was concerned that Christianity had weakened the Roman Empire, especially in contrast to Rome’s former strength when it had served pagan gods. Augustine argues that God does not allow evil to exist so much as we choose it by our actions, deeds. Poor Mr. Witty jabs aside, I completely agree with Kreeft. Book VI, Chapters 1-6 Summary. According to that report, Augustine became more aware and tried unsuccessfully to communicate his desires to the adults around him. Augustine of Hippo, whose full name was Aurelius Augustinus, was born in 354 CE, in the city of Tagaste, in the Roman North African province of Numidia (now Algeria). 99/year as selected above. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Augustine. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Plato believed that learning is a kind of remembering, in which the soul rediscovers a truth it knew before birth. Time never lapses, nor does it glide at leisure through our sense perceptions. Augustine (354–430 CE) St. _______ is a friend who is trying to be successful. Important quotes by St. London: Loeb Classical Library. Summary. 354–430) and what it means. He commends Socrates for promoting the conclusion that there must. Narrow is the mansion of my soul; enlarge Thou it, that Thou mayest enter in. Augustine is finally introduced directly to the Neoplatonists, and scholars agree that he read the works of both Plotinus and his main student Porphyry. Augustine's background, historical events that influenced Confessions, and the main ideas within the work. Summary and Analysis Book 5: Chapters 8-14. Analysis. Though this is not a primary idea in Confessions, Augustine sees all the events of his life as divinely just; he sinned, suffered, and was saved all according to God's perfect justice. He disliked learning the mechanics of Latin, but it was better than reading vain stories. Augustine is convinced that the person who is separated from God through his own sinfulness can never be fully happy. Summary and Analysis Book 1: Chapters 6-7. It is sometimes said that Augustine invented the modern autobiography. Context for Book IV Quotes. 99/year as selected above. Hide not Thy face from me. This is similar to Michael's survivor's guilt – why keep living when so many have. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Confessions and what it means. 387. Augustine harshly criticizes this view for. Preview. To be near her son, Monica moved to Milan. Summary. Lines 1-8. He goes to. About St. Subscribe for $3 a Month. In the first paragraph of Confessions, Augustine penned his now famous line, “You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you. 99/month or $24. Context for Book VIII Quotes. Milan is the last place Augustine lives in the Confessions, and it is the site of his final steps toward Christianity and of his conversion experience in the garden. A summary of Book VIII in Augustine's Confessions. English poet Robert Browning's "Confessions" is a tale of love and memory. Augustine was baptized by Ambrose at Milan during Eastertide, A. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. He decides to resign his teaching job after an upcoming vacation period, and a chest illness gives him a further excuse to retire. Noverim te, noverim me: "I would know you [God], I would know myself. Augustine proclaims that he enjoyed. Nebridius. Summary. It is divided into an autobiographical half (what happened in Augustine’s life) and a biographical half (Monica’s life and death). Only one piece of narrative interrupts the dense description. All things were made by him, and without him nothing was made. The first book was written between 387 and 388, while Books 2 and 3 were written a few years. Augustine's early insistence on philosophy. 3 Chapter Summaries - Summary The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations; Charlotte Temple Essay Questions - Absalom, Absalom; Confessions Saint Augustine Discussion - Absalom, Absalom; Critique of pure reason lecture notes - Absalom, Absalom; Notes on Polanyi Great Transformation - The FrogsBook 15 Summary. Summary. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Summary. Confessions (Latin: Confessiones) is an autobiographical work by Augustine of Hippo, consisting of 13 books written in Latin between AD 397 and 400. Confessions - Book VII Summary & Analysis. to IX. Celibate Augustine Examines His Youthful Non-Celibate Self. Despite being unfamiliar and unusual, the Confessions has surprised. D. He "ran wild in the shadowy jungle of erotic adventures. At sixteen, he came home from school for a year while his father tried to raise money to send him to a better school in Carthage. In this Book he concentrates on the most. Augustine disagreed, maintaining that human beings are both body and soul together. In calling upon God, Augustine shows faith, because he cannot call upon a God he does not know. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Confessions and what it means. While he believes God to be "imperishable, inviolable, and unchangeable," he is still stuck on a corporeal idea of God spread through. In reality, the work is not so much an autobiography as an exploration of the. Confessions by Saint Augustine of Hippo. Confessions, spiritual self-examination by Saint Augustine, written in Latin as Confessiones about 400 CE. Summary. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. My weight is my love. Book 7 is one of the most tightly constructed sections of the Confessions, in which Augustine describes in detail how he finally comes to understand God, Christ, and evil. Augustine speaks of this book in his Retractations, 1. H. One of the most important and powerful passages of Confessions relates the journey of the self toward wholeness. Augustine examines the action of the Holy Trinity in the creation by looking at the verse "the Spirit moved over the waters. In Confessions, Augustine demonstrates these concepts through his own experience; in De civitate Dei (413-427; The City of God, 1610), he demonstrates these ideas through human history. Augustine shared his struggles and was relieved to learn that the bishop approved of Neoplatonism. Augustine is pretty anguished by his search for truth, but his pride is preventing him from making progress. It recounts some of the events directly following Augustine's conversion: his retirement from his secular post, his baptism with Alypius and Adeodatus, a shared vision with Monica at Ostia just before her death, and a section of praise for her. He describes her childhood and how she began sneaking wine from the cask when she was sent to fetch it; a servant cruelly taunted her about this habit, and she immediately gave it up. D. The first book of the Confessions is devoted primarily to an analysis of Augustine's life as a child, from his infancy (which he cannot recall and must reconstruct) up through his days as a schoolboy in Thagaste (in Eastern Algeria). Study Guide. I sought what I might love, in love with loving, and safety I hated, and a way without snares. While he believes God to be "imperishable, inviolable, and unchangeable," he is still stuck on a corporeal idea of God spread through. Summary. A summary of Part X (Section1) in 's Saint Augustine (A. In Confessions, Augustine plays the lead role in the story of his own life. And now you stretched forth your hand from above and drew up my soul out of that profound darkness because my mother, your faithful one, wept to you on my behalf more than mothers are accustomed to weep for the bodily deaths of their children. Book VIII, Chapters 1-5 Summary. . Hyde King Lear Of Mice and Men The Crucible Menu. The Confessions by Saint Augustine Translation by Maria Boulding, OSB, New City Press, (1997) [Page numbers provided here correspond roughly to the hardback edition] BOOK VIII: Conversion Page 184 1, 1. 370–410 CE) and the Goths (Visigoths) in 410 on. On his 16th year, he was consumed by love and lust that worried his mother that her son may take the wrong path. O'Donnell (Oxford: 1992; ISBN 0-19-814 378-8). BOOK IX . Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Confessions and what it means. O Lord, truly I am Your servant; I am Your servant, and the son of Your handmaid: You have loosed my bonds. Augustine proclaims that he enjoyed. Confessions study guide contains a biography of Saint Augustine, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and. Dido, the queen of Carthage, kills herself after being abandoned by Aeneas. Summary. Augustine’s Confessions. Monica is violently opposed, and Augustine has to lie to her in order to get away from Carthage. '. After this voice let me haste, and take hold on Thee. He revisits his motivation for writing, to serve God and draw. All things were made by him, and without him nothing was made. Following a prayer of thanks for his salvation (chapter 1), Augustine records the. Context for Book X Quotes. . Only God can say whether people exist in some form before infancy; Augustine says that. Read the full text of Confessions: Book XIII. 12-10-2022. He Calls Upon God, and Proposes to Himself to Worship Him. God fills all of creation; God is perfect, eternal, unchangeable, all-powerful, and the source of all goodness. Read the full text of Confessions: Book V. This is because the deeper purpose of writing his story is to convert people to Catholicism. BOOK VI . Upon arriving in Carthage at age 17, Augustine wishes to fall in love, not realizing that what he craves is God. Book V follows the young Augustine from Carthage (where he finds his students too rowdy for his liking) to Rome (where he finds them too corrupt) and on to Milan, where he will remain until his conversion. 99/month or $24. Read the full text of Confessions in its entirety, completely free. His famous works Confessions and City of God are discussed in this Guide. To begin I read select sections of Augustine’s Confessions and annotated his work in detail. Evil is a major theme in the Confessions, particularly in regard to its origin. Aim: Our aim is to understand the structure, argument, and purpose of Augustine’s Confessions. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Confessions and what it means. The City of God, philosophical treatise vindicating Christianity, written by the medieval philosopher St. 3) In Book 2 of the Confessions Augustine describes his further descent into moral disorder during Book VIII. . Important quotes from Book IX in Confessions. He was in the beginning with God. 99/month or $24. This is a watershed moment for the young Augustine, who finds in Neoplatonism a way of reconciling his. 99/month or $24. 99/year as selected above. Augustine as De civitate Dei contra paganos (Concerning the City of God Against the Pagans) about 413–426 ce. Listening to the Manichees will turn out to be perhaps the biggest mistake of his life, and much of Book III is devoted to an initial attack on the Manichee faith. The story of his early life is exceedingly well known—better known than that of virtually any other Greek or Roman worthy. ” -Augustine, Confessions. He indirectly uses imagery of pilgrimage, a motif that is threaded through The Confessions, to depict the soul's wandering until it finds God. St augustine confessions summary Rating: 8,1/10 1203 reviews Poetry analysis is the process of examining a poem in order to understand its meaning, its message, and its various literary elements. Written in two stages (Books 1 and 2) at the end of the 4th century and completed by the year 395. CONFESSIONS. Summary and Analysis Book 2: Chapters 1-3. A summary of Book II in St. The book is a meditation on the course and meaning of his. Manichee beliefs begin to lose their luster for him during this period, and by the end of the Book he considers. 2147 The Enchridion. His moderately well-to-do family was religiously mixed. In making a confession of praise, Augustine says, he is also demonstrating his faith, because he is not praising some distant or unknowable deity; God is as close to him as. only if they are not evil. There was indeed one thing for which I wished to tarry a little in this life, and that was that I might see you a Catholic Christian before I died. Augustine wrote Confessions as a spiritual memoir and as a book length prayer to God with a retelling of his childhood and early adulthood. Augustine was baptized by Ambrose at Milan during Eastertide, A. BOOK X . Greek philosopher who lived from c. Augustine did not simply establish a pattern; he produced a work whose influence was so pervasive that all later autobiographers. Instead, he remembers with pleasure how he and his secret girlfriend used to sneak out and meet each other one long-ago. Part an autobiography and part a philosophical notebook, both aspects of Confessions trace Augustine's spiritual and philosophical journey as he encounters, explores, and sometimes adopts a variety of approaches to life before fully embracing Christianity and developing. Books 1 through 9 of Saint Augustine’s Confessions are a kind of backward reflection, covering the period from the author’s birth to his religious conversion to Christianity. It does strange things in the mind. He closes the Book (and the story of his life) with a prayer for Monica's soul. Augustine explores free will and the nature of evil. 687. A masterpiece of Western culture, The City of God was written in response to pagan claims that the sack of Rome by barbarians in 410 was. One of the most important and powerful passages of Confessions relates the journey of the self toward wholeness. Saint Augustine. God created them through the Word, Jesus Christ. Like many ancient books, its style and tone are so unfamiliar to the modern reader. Sheed’s translation captures Augustine’s poetic verve better than any other I’ve read. So astrology must be false. According to Saint Augustine’s Confessions, the importance of the encounter with the drunken beggar in Milan is to highlight that seeking bodily desires, a derivative of sin, inevitably constitutes desolation that can only be resolved through. Augustine's Confessions. Evil/Wickedness. The Confessions is written in the first person and addressed directly to God. Among possible uses, one could consider these comments while reading the work. Monica is an engaging character, strong, energetic, and completely. The Confessions were written partly as a response to these critics, openly confessing Augustine's past mistakes, praising God with effusiveness and poetry, and roundly. Augustine discusses his childhood. Amor Dei: a Study of the Religion of Saint Augustine. St. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Confessions and what it means. She encouraged the sailors on board, who were usually the ones to assuage the fears of the passengers rather than be comforted themselves. Context for Book I Quotes. The sins of idleness, lust, and pride are analyzed and by Augustine in a way that shows deep insight and reflection. Augustine with a Twist: The Similarities and Differences of the. Divine Justice. Even natural evils, such as disease, are indirectly related to human action, since they become evil. But then, tragedy strikes: on the journey back, Augustine's mother dies. This confusion led to his misery for decades. Evil/Wickedness. Chapter 1 is a prayer to God in which Augustine takes stock of his present situation. Chapter 1. First published Wed Sep 25, 2019. a CONFESSIONS a 5 me the comforts of woman’s milk. Important quotes from Book VI in Confessions. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. He identifies two closely related causes. Confessions is an autobiographical work by Saint Augustine, consisting of 13 books written in Latin between AD 397 and 400. Summary. As a result, Augustine tries Neoplatonic contemplation and is granted a vision. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Confessions and what it means. It is a polished work, and is likely the. Book IX is the final Book of the autobiographical part of the Confessions. Faustus comes rolling into town. God enables humans to freely choose their actions and deeds, and evil inevitably results from these choices. Augustine begins with the question of priority in the creation (he loosely defines 'priority' later in Book XII). By your gift, we are enkindled and are carried upward. Although Augustine has been using Neoplatonic terms and ideas throughout the Confessions thus far, it isn't until Book VII that he reaches the point in his autobiography when he first reads Neoplatonic philosophy. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Don't worry, God is working on it. Only god, found inwardly, offers truth. Instead, he distracts himself with "theatrical shows," musing on the fact that people enjoy sad feelings evoked by fictional dramas, even though everyone aspires to happiness. A suggested list of literary criticism on St. He is deeply distressed, therefore, that he cannot leave his old life now that he no longer has any doubts about Christianity. Citing divine intimacy as motivation and discounting “life’s experiences,” Augustine commits to “do [ing] truth […] in my heart by confession in your presence, and with my pen before many witnesses” (181). SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. This line of inquiry will, he hopes, add to the contrasts between the earthly city and the city of God. Summary and Analysis Book 1: Chapters 8-11. Augustine lived prior to his conversion. Augustine - Philosopher, Theologian, Bishop: Although autobiographical narrative makes up much of the first 9 of the 13 books of Augustine’s Confessiones (c. Through God 's grace, Augustine experiences a conversion in which his reason and will become one - his soul is finally at peace with God. The poem's speaker, an old man on his deathbed, makes a last confession to a visiting priest—but perhaps not a very contrite one. Neoplatonism. Augustine of Hippo’s On Free Choice of the Will (in Latin, De Libero Arbitrio) is a work of Christian philosophy that explores human free will and the nature of evil. For Augustine, justice has her temporal reasons, and the context of time plays a role in every situation. Rather, the growth of the boy into the man, the. Saint Augustine's Reconciliation of Faith and Intellect. Simplicianus congratulates him for studying the books of the Platonists and tells him the story of Victorinus. The subsequent story of final conversion is placed within a context of. He was born on November 13, 354 CE in Tagaste, Numidia. “You have made us for yourself,” he writes,Read the full text of Confessions: Book VIII. Context for Book V Quotes. In On Free Choice of the Will ( De Libero Arbitrio ), St. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Suggestions. Its formal title is On the proper mode of serving God, through Faith, Hope, and Love. Summary and Analysis Book 6: Chapters 7-16. Summary and Analysis Book 1: Chapters 6-7. A year later, Augustine was back in Roman Africa living in a monastery at Tagaste, his native town. Summary. About St. 99/year as selected above. Augustine's Confessions. Genesis further implies that the initial 'heaven' was not the starry. Augustine explores the nature of God and sin within the context of a Christian man's life. Summary. Augustine’s Confessions Book 2 Response The themes of the second book of Augustine’s Confessions are well summed up in the preamble before chapter one. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Confessions. On the City of God Against the Pagans ( Latin: De civitate Dei contra paganos ), often called The City of God, is a book of Christian philosophy written in Latin by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century AD. Augustine opens with a statement of praise to God; to praise God is the natural desire of all men. This is the final Book of the autobiographical part of the Confessions (the concluding four Books address more strictly philosophical and theological issues). He was a Catholic theologian, bishop, and philosopher of Berber descent. Confessions also includes meditations on the nature of God, nature of humans, memory, time, creation, and more. I. "Take up and read," from a series of frescos on the life of Augustine, bishop of Hippo (now Annaba, Algeria) done by Benozzo Gozzoli in San Gimignano (1465); This document is an on-line reprint of Augustine: Confessions, a text and commentary by James J. His father, Patricius, was a pagan who still adhered to the old gods of Rome, and his mother. It takes Augustine many years before he realizes just how important being inscribed in the “walls of the Church” actually is to his moral and spiritual well-being [8. ”. Confessions study guide contains a biography of Saint Augustine, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. indd 4 11/13/17 12:12 PM. 28, 430, Hippo Regius; feast day August 28), Christian theologian and one of the Latin Fathers of the Church. He is taken in by their objections to the literal sense of the Bible and by the physicality of their mythology, because he fails to understand that only the spiritual reality is the true one, while the physical reality is merely the. Full Work Summary. 2, 8. Since first reading the text as a freshman at Valparaiso University, he has made an annual pilgrimage alongside the Bishop of Hippo through the thirteen books of his Confessions. He enjoys the vicarious suffering he could. Summary. Analysis. There is very little sense of cause and effect in this idea of justice, since sinning is largely its own punishment (Augustine speaks of his. How does Augustine read the following statement from Genesis: 'In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Augustine then goes over the reasons why he is confessing: to. Still, Augustine and his posse want to get near this guy, and they finally elbow their way through the fanboys and. Augustine's Confessions appears at first to be a spiritual autobiography, but it is rather an extended prayer to God in which the author presents himself as an object lesson of how an individual soul becomes a pilgrim seeking the path to God. The book was in response to allegations that Christianity brought about the decline of Rome and is considered one of. His moderately well-to-do family was religiously mixed. Context for Book IV Quotes. Background on Augustine and Confessions. 2. Say unto my soul, I am your salvation. A summary of Confessions in Augustine's Selected Works of Augustine. Summary. A summary of Book IX in Augustine's Confessions. Born in Roman North Africa, he adopted Manichaeism, taught rhetoric in Carthage, and fathered a son. In learning language, Augustine joined human society. Listening to the Manichees will turn out to be perhaps the biggest mistake of his life, and much of Book III is devoted to an initial attack on the Manichee faith. Except for the Apostles and other New Testament authors, no believer has affected the shape of our Christian faith more than Augustine of Hippo (354-430). Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Augustine is further inspired by talking to Ponticianus, a court official, who tells him and Alypius about the famous monk, Antony of Egypt. When writing a poetry analysis paper, it is important to first read the poem carefully, paying attention to its language, structure, and. Now Augustine claims that time can only be measured while it is passing (but he doesn't mean with a clock, because those don't exist yet). First published in 2015, and the 2016 Wolfson History Prize winner, the book tells the story of Saint Augustine’s early years until the point he discovered Christianity and vowed to live a celibate life. Neoplatonism. His Confessions, written when he was in his forties, recount how, slowly and. This is the start of our new feature, The Friar Book Club. #catholicbookreview In this video I summarize the autobiographical work of St. Augustine’s answers to this question would forever change Western thought. Augustine (354–430 CE) St. 6,350+ In-Depth Study Guides. religion vocab. He takes up the question of good and evil again, now asking how one might define the supreme good of humanity. The Confessions of St. Full Work Analysis. Read the full text of Confessions: Book V. So speak that I may hear. In Augustine's reading of Genesis, what is the major difference between God's 'word' and human speech?Summary and Analysis Book 1: Chapters 12-20. Many critics have taken Augustine at his word that he was a libertine. From this celibate vantagepoint, Augustine examines the sources for the decidedly un-celibate behavior as a younger man that he has described in his Confessions. Publication Date: December 29, 1998; Paperback: 400 pages; Publisher: Vintage; ISBN-10: 0375700218; ISBN-13: 9780375700217;Well, I just had a similar experience rereading the Confessions of St. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. This is a watershed moment for the young Augustine, who finds in Neoplatonism a way of reconciling his long. Yet it was also strange for Augustine’s contemporaries because its genre and structure are so unusual to most first-time readers. Literary Context: The Importance of Confessions to the Autobiography Genre. The listed critical essays and books will be invaluable for writing essays and papers on Confessions. Augustine opens the final Book of Confessions with a prayer of praise to God. " He realizes, however, from the remove of middle age, that his one desire was simply to love and be loved. When Bishop Ambrose forbids her from making offerings for the dead, as was customary in Africa, she obediently gives up the practice. " He went back to Thagaste to be. The sins of idleness, lust, and pride are analyzed and by Augustine in a way that shows deep insight and reflection. The text of Genesis describes a nascent earth as 'invisible and unorganized,' in Augustine's reading - an earth comprised of fluid 'formless matter. " Augustine asks how he can know that this is true. Downloadable PDFs. He identifies two closely related causes. Augustine Confessions by James J. It is obvious that all things were created, because they are subject to change. 99/year as selected above. It is the "life of the body," commanding the body, receiving and storing sensory input, and using concepts and ideas. Augustine Confessions by James J. Get LitCharts A +. It may be examined not only in a theological way, but also as a work of philosophy or of human psychology. Augustine uses the example of his early life in Book I (continued in the subsequent Books) as a template for chronicling his spiritual development. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Summary. The work explores the personal scandals that tormented Rousseau’s public life, including his experiences with a highly controversial affair and the abandonment of his children. 354–430). A summary of Book XI in St. Book X is the beginning of the philosophical portion of Confessions. BOOK XII . At 28, Augustine was living in Carthage teaching rhetoric. Learn more about Confessions by reading background on Augustine and his Confessions as well as essay that provide context for it. Book I, Chapters 1-5 Summary. Summary. As a child, Augustine hated being forced to study, and those who forced him had only empty wealth and glory in mind. These passages in Book 7 from The Confessions are perhaps among the most variously interpreted by scholars. Reading The Confessions. Wasting no time in getting to the philosophical content of his autobiography, Augustine's account of. Only God can say whether people exist in some form before infancy; Augustine says that. Although Augustine has been using Neoplatonic terms and ideas throughout the Confessions thus far, it isn't until Book VII that he reaches the point in his autobiography when he first reads Neoplatonic philosophy. 283 Words2 Pages. BOOK XIII . 95. St.