What’s in the fresco?

This fresco shows St. Augustine’s college years at Carthage.  Augustine is seen in the fresco kneeling in the red robe in front of his teachers. The two people standing on the tablet to the left are most likely two Manichaeans, whom Augustine describes as “a set of proud madmen” (3.6.10).  Augustine followed the Manichaeans and Manichaean doctrine, which deals largely with God’s struggle with evil, for nearly 10 years after college. In this fresco there are two very important books shown: Hortensius by Cicero and the Bible. One is located on the table in the foreground -- this is most likely the Bible -- while the other shown to Augustine by his teachers is probably Hortensius.

What’s in Confessions?

Cicero’s Hortensius played a very large role in Augustine’s student years. While reading Hortensius, Augustine took to heart the meaning the book had for him personally. This exposed him to the art of philosophy and provoked his longing for the wisdom that the book could offer him. In reading this work, Augustine opened his mind to a realm beyond his carnal desires and found in himself a passion for wisdom, which, with the aid of the holy Scriptures in the years to come, would ultimately draw Augustine to faith in God (3.4.7). Augustine sums up this experience in saying, “All my hollow hopes suddenly seemed worthless, and with unbelievable intensity my heart burned with longing for the immortality that wisdom seemed to promise. I began to rise up, in order to return to you” (3.4.7).   The Bible’s placement in the fresco suggests how Augustine’s relationship to the holy Scriptures changed throughout his life. Eventually Augustine finds his answers in the Bible, but during his student years he could not relate to it: “My approach then was quite different from the one I am suggesting now: when I studied the Bible and compared it with Cicero’s dignified prose [in Hortensius], it seemed to me unworthy. My swollen pride recoiled from its style and my intelligence failed to penetrate to its inner meaning” (3.5.9).
 
What’s in it for us?

Augustine is one of the few famous philosophers to ever discuss his college experiences.  Many students can relate to his actions as a young adult and can also learn from his mistakes. The first time Augustine read the Scriptures, he failed to see the answers he sought contained within them, and completely rejected them. If he would have tried to understand the holy Scriptures the first time he read them, rather than disregarding their style, he would have avoided a lot of confusion and pain. This part of Confessions demonstrates that college students must keep an open mind when reading and learning new things.  Instead of judging something on a minor detail, students should try to read deeper and learn as much as possible. They should not be closed off to anything regarding academics, because this will greatly limit their ability to learn as much as they could. If they have a problem with something they are reading, they should challenge it rather than disregarding it. Through this method, they will either find a new solution to their problem, or become even stronger in their original thoughts and ideas.