What’s in the fresco?
Although the moment depicted here was preceded by an intense period of emotional stress, the fresco itself is the most peaceful of all the images in this series. Here, Augustine is reading the Bible at the moment of his conversion, having finally resolved his spiritual crisis. The wall behind Augustine, which looks like a prison, represents his past when he was imprisoned by his broken will. The tree that is to the right of the wall hearkens back to the garden of Eden but may also represent the spiritual growth Augustine underwent while reading the passage. To the right of the tree is an open garden that symbolizes his escape from restlessness. In other words, this scene signifies a transition from his previous life of confinement by the prison on the left to one of freedom where he can explore a new life with God. One of the figures to the left of Augustine is pointing his hands in opposite directions symbolizing Augustine’s choice; to stay in his life of sin or move forward to conversion. Although all the other figures in the frescoes have shadows, these two figures do not, suggesting their divinity. Presumably it was these divine figures who told Augustine to pick up the bible and read it. This is why Augustine is seated reading a passage from the Bible. Augustine’s concentration is focused on the passage his finger is pointing to, and, indeed, it is the bible passage itself which is at the very center of the fresco. This point is also the origin of the trees growth, which ties Augustine’s reading of the passage to his spiritual growth. Standing to Augustine’s right is his friend Alypius, who had accompanied him in the garden that day. The figures to his left and his friend to his right linearly draw attention to Augustine and he transfers this attention towards the passage within the Bible. Augustine is also seated closer to the angel; this could be interpreted as a shift towards his own spiritual side and away from his materialistic nature.
What’s in Confessions?
Before his conversion, Augustine is frustrated by the fact that he cannot bring himself to convert. He says to God, “Grant me chastity and self-control, but please not yet” (8.7.17). Though Augustine believed in God he was not ready to give up his life of sin. By the time he wanted to convert, his will was so broken that he could not do it on his own and he realized he needed God’s helping hand. “It was a journey not to be undertaken by ship or carriage or on foot” (8.8.19). Finally in the garden, he was able to break free of the “iron of his own will” when he heard a voice say, “Tolle Lege, tolle lege,” which is translated to mean, "Pick it up and read." These words presumably come from the two angelic figures to the left of Augustine, and ultimately, from God. He walked back to his close friend Alypius to pick up the Bible and read the first passage he saw. This was, “Let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies or drunkenness, not in promiscuity, licentiousness, not in rivalry or jealousy. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provisions for the desires for the flesh” (Rom. 13:13-14). After reading, he thought, “No sooner had I reached the end of the verse than the light of certainty flooded my heart and all dark shades of doubt flew away.” Augustine finally reached a state of peacefulness because he was freed from his broken will. The same peacefulness is present in this fresco.
What’s in it for us?
Augustine’s story shows us many things. First, the likelihood that we truly understand something increases with the number of meaningful encounters we experience. Despite having read the Bible previously, Augustine did not have the mental maturity to understand what the text actually meant. For us, this means that as we grow and experience different highs and lows, texts, events or relationships that we come across in life may have different meanings than they do now. For example, many children see education as an unwanted chore but as they mature they realize that education is an important part of life. Augustine also shows us that we should be more aware of what we put at the top of our list of priorities. For example, it is easy to be selfish and put our desires over everyone else’s but by doing this, we are loving ourselves more than we are loving God. Another thing we are taught is that divine intervention is necessary for people who have broken or “iron” wills. For example, all types of people who fall victim to bad habits cannot really break their dependency without help from divine intervention. They, like Augustine, need outside help to break out of their compulsions.
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