Summary A Pursuit Of Wisdom Confessions - 2348 Words

Elana Selitsky 3/27/16 A Pursuit of Wisdom in Confessions In the first nine books of his Confessions, Augustine of Hippo narrates the journey of his restless heart, seeking to find rest in God. He embarks on a journey for the wisdom that constitutes the happy life, navigated by a thirst for knowledge and truth. Augustine’s journey is sparked by his restless heart searching for the right answers to his questions about the universe. He feels the need to fully understand things before he can believe them, and a significant part of his journey towards wisdom consists of learning how to believe in things he doesn’t know the answer to, thus allowing his mind and heart to rest. Augustine is challenged by concepts such as sin, evil, and God’s nature, but is eventually able to find wisdom and rest for his heart through obtaining answers about the nature of the world. Augustine’s journey is sparked by Cicero, a philosopher whose book is the first that Augustine reads and is impressed â€Å"not by the book’s refini ng effect on [his] style and literary expression but by the content† (III.4.7). This is Augustine’s turning point from a sinful teenager to a seeker of knowledge and truth about the world, as â€Å"suddenly every vain hope became empty to [him], and [he] longed for the immortality of wisdom† (III.4.7). Generally, Augustine’s quest for wisdom is combined with a quest of rest, truth, and knowledge. Augustine says to God, â€Å"you stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because youShow MoreRelated The Aeneid by Virgil Essay2075 Words   |  9 Pagesa distinctly private second voice that talks about loss. We also find that in Confessions by Saint Augustine the author at times addresses God very personally, and at other times does not refer to him much at all. 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