Of Two Souls E-Book

Saint Augustine

• Herausgeber: Cervantes Digital
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

"Of Two Souls" by Saint Augustine delves into the profound mystery of human nature, exploring the intricate relationship between the body and the soul. In this philosophical treatise, Augustine embarks on a journey of introspection and inquiry, seeking to unravel the enigma of the human condition and the duality of the human experience.

At the heart of Augustine's discourse lies the recognition of humanity's dual nature—a tension between the earthly desires of the flesh and the transcendent aspirations of the soul. Drawing upon the rich tapestry of biblical teachings and philosophical insights, Augustine reflects upon the complex interplay between the material and the spiritual dimensions of existence.

Through his nuanced analysis, Augustine wrestles with fundamental questions concerning the nature of the soul, the origin of sin, and the ultimate destiny of humanity. He grapples with the profound implications of human freedom and moral responsibility, seeking to reconcile the inherent tensions between divine sovereignty and human agency.

Moreover, Augustine's exploration of the duality of human nature extends beyond mere philosophical speculation to encompass broader questions of ethics, morality, and the pursuit of spiritual fulfillment. He reflects upon the struggles and triumphs of the human spirit, urging his readers to cultivate virtues such as humility, self-discipline, and compassion in their quest for moral excellence.

In "Of Two Souls," Augustine emerges as a profound spiritual guide, offering timeless wisdom and insight into the complexities of human existence. His reflections on the duality of human nature serve as a poignant reminder of the existential tensions that define the human condition and the enduring quest for meaning and purpose in life.

Through his eloquent prose and profound insights, Augustine invites readers to embark on a journey of self-discovery and spiritual growth, urging them to confront the complexities of their own souls and to strive for greater alignment with the transcendent truths of the divine. In "Of Two Souls," Augustine's timeless wisdom continues to inspire and illuminate the path toward greater self-awareness, moral integrity, and spiritual enlightenment.

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Cervantes Digital

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ISBN: 978-1-312-12454-7



Of Two Souls

Against the Manichæans (A.D. 391)

Chapter 1.— By What Course of Reasoning the Error of the Manichæans Concerning Two Souls, One of Which is Not from God, is Refuted. Every Soul, Inasmuch as It is a Certain Life, Can Have Its Existence Only from God the Source of Life

1. Through the assisting mercy of God, the snares of the Manichæans having been broken to pieces and left behind, having been restored at length to the bosom of the Catholic Church, I am disposed now at least to consider and to deplore my recent wretchedness. For there were many things that I ought to have done to prevent the seeds of the most true religion wholesomely implanted in me from boyhood, from being banished from my mind, having been uprooted by the error and fraud of false and deceitful men. For, in the first place, if I had soberly and diligently considered, with prayerful and pious mind, those two kinds of souls to which they attributed natures and properties so distinct that they wished one to be regarded as of the very substance of God, but were not even willing that God should be accepted as the author of the other; perhaps it would have appeared to me, intent on learning, that there is no life whatsoever, which, by the very fact of its being life and in so far as it is life at all, does not pertain to the supreme source and beginning of life, which we must acknowledge to be nothing else than the supreme and only and true God. Wherefore there is no reason why we should not confess, that those souls which the Manichæans call evil are either devoid of life and so not souls, neither will anything positively or negatively, neither follow after nor flee from anything; or, if they live so that they can be souls, and act as the Manichæans suppose, in no way do they live unless by life, and if it be an established fact, as it is, that Christ has said: "I am the life," John 14:6 that all souls seeing that they cannot be souls except by living were created and fashioned by Christ, that is, by the Life.

Chapter 2.— If the Light that is Perceived by Sense Has God for Its Author, as the Manichæans Acknowledge, Much More The Soul Which is Perceived by Intellect Alone

2. But if at that time my thought was not able to bear and sustain the question concerning life and partaking of life, which is truly a great question, and one that requires much calm discussion among the learned, I might perchance have had power to discover that which to every man considering himself, without a study of the individual parts, is perfectly evident, namely, that everything we are said to know and to understand, we comprehend either by bodily sense or by mental operation. That the five bodily senses are commonly enumerated as sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, than all of which intellect is immeasurably more noble and excellent, who would have been so ungrateful and impious as not to concede to me; which being established and confirmed, we should have seen how it follows, that whatsoever things are perceived by touch or sight or in any bodily manner at all, are by so much inferior to those things that we comprehend intellectually as the senses are inferior to the intellect. Wherefore, since all life, and so every soul, can be perceived by no bodily sense, but by the intellect alone, whereas while yonder sun and moon and every luminary that is beheld by these mortal eyes, the Manichæans themselves also say must be attributed to the true and good God, it is the height of madness to claim that that belongs to God which we observe bodily; but, on the other hand, to think that what we receive not only by the mind, but by the highest form of mind, namely, reason and intellect, that is life, whatsoever it may be called, nevertheless life, should be deprived and bereft of the same God as its author. For if having invoked God, I had asked myself what living is, how inscrutable it is to every bodily sense, how absolutely incorporeal it is, could not I have answered? Or would not the Manichæans also confess not only that the souls they detest live, but that they live also immortally? And that Christ's saying: "Send the dead to bury their dead," Matthew 8:22 was uttered not with reference to those not living at all, but with reference to sinners, which is the only death of the immortal soul; as when Paul writes: "The widow that gives herself to pleasure is dead while she lives," 1 Timothy 5:6 he says that she at the same time is dead, and alive. Wherefore I should have directed attention not to the great degree of contamination in which the sinful soul lives, but only to the fact itself that it lives. But if I cannot perceive except by an act of intelligence, I believe it would have come into the mind, that by as much as any mind whatever is to be preferred to the light which we see through these eyes, by so much we should give to intellect the preference over the eyes themselves.