Howdy everyone, this will be my last ancient lit essay for this school year, and this one will be about Saint Augustine, at age sixteen. But first, some info on Plotinus, who influenced Augustine’s future self. The philosopher Plotinus is considered the father of Neoplatonism. He believed that he achieved union with the Supreme Principle, the One, multiple times in his life. According to his theory, all temporary and material things emanated from the One, including the Intellect, the Soul, and humans. The link between Augustine and Plotinus is in that Augustine never bought into Christianity or the letters of Paul until he read Plotinus. Then Paul's theology all made sense to him. But first, he had to overcome his own demons.
Now, onto Augustine's sixteen-year-old self, as described in his work, 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. His sixteen-year-old self "Delighted in evil and sin."Apparently he liked stealing more than anything else, and on several occasions brought his comrades on stealing runs. He didn't really care about what he stole, the thrill of stealing it was what satisfied him. Once he stole a bunch of pears just to throw them out to the pigs.
Augustine delighted in these deeds basically because he wasn't supposed to. He enjoyed being the bad boy. How does this apply to humans? Do we do things just because we know they're wrong? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. For example, there is a random rock lying around. Your sister tells you that she has grown quite fond of that rock, and that you'd better not kick it. Were you going to kick the rock in the first place? Probably not. Are you going to now? Probably. Somehow, that's just how human minds work. You get a lot more satisfaction kicking that rock than you do walking away from it.
Sometimes humanity needs to focus on what's right, and not what is satisfying.
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