Book Eleven

Bks. 11-13 offer the most perplexing structural problems for students of conf. A.'s only comment elsewhere is retr. 2.6.1, `a primo usque ad decimum de me scripti sunt, in tribus ceteris de scripturis sanctis, ab eo quod scriptum est: “in principio fecit deus caelum et terram,” usque ad sabbati requiem.' ¹ That there is a change in subject of some sort is obvious, a change confirmed by the interesting observation of Knauer 68n1, that from here to the end the word salus occurs only once (at 13.18.22, in an echo of Rom. 13.11), after appearing 44x in the first ten books (and see on 11.2.4 for similar evidence for exaudire and misereri). The difficulty of these books has often led to their neglect.²

This is a turning point. The speaking voice and that of which it speaks become now unequivocally present. That present-ness foreshadows eternity, but for fallen creation that present-ness can only be found by reaching into the `future' --every attempt in Bk. 10 to reach the present ends by slipping into memory--the past--again. Here A. leaves memory to live in the present.

The embarrassment of moderns attempting to understand the structure and working of the text from here on is thus not surprising, for the reorientation required is considerable. Where before the reader could remain a voyeur looking curiously, side by side with A., at A.'s past, now the reader is urged to share A.'s exploration of the nature of God, and of himself--but not in the sense that the reader is expected to go away and recreate certain actions and emotions after reading the text: the reading of the text is itself the participation. A. does not turn his back on the intellectual ascent of the mind to God; he now pursues it in a different way.

To assist in the detection and interpretation of structures, the following observations may be offered:

(1) The first ordering principle is the sequential exegesis of the creation narrative of Genesis, carried through all three books (but the bulk of the text is expounded only in Bk. 13). This text is the third of five major attempts in A.'s life to do justice to the creation narrative: Gn. c. man. (388/90), Gn. litt. imp. (393/4), conf. 11-13, Gn. litt. (401-15), civ. 11-14 (417/18). Such a structure for catechetical discourse is suggested by cat. rud. 3.5, `narratio plena est, cum quisque primo catechizatur ab eo quod scriptum est, “in principio fecit deus caelum et terram,” usque ad praesentia tempora ecclesiae' (and cf. cat. rud. 6.10). Here in conf., allegory turns the seven days of creation into a narrative that stands for the whole narrative `usque ad praesentia tempora'. The difference is that cat. rud. 7.11 suggests that, after the narratio, there follow discussion on the hope of resurrection (and refutation of infidel errors concerning the resurrection); see preceding 9.1.1 for the paucity of mention of resurrection in conf. (We can see A. using Gn. 1 in a catechetical context in the fragments printed at PL 39.1724-9, which come from a series of sermons on the days of creation delivered during the days of Easter week to the newly baptized (on authenticity, see Verbraken); and this of course recalls Ambrose's exameron, a series of catechetical sermons from the week preceding Easter, which A. heard preached in either 386 or 387--Ambrose matched the six days of his sermons to the days of creation (see Amb. exam. 3.1.1). (On creation in conf., see A. di Giovanni, REAug 20[1974], 285-312.)

(2) The second ordering principle is the disposition of books corresponding to persons of the trinity. Bk. 11 depicts the God of eternity--the first person of the trinity; Bk. 12 depicts the God of the Word--the second person; and Bk. 13 depicts the God who acts through the church--the third person. (Hints of such a pattern have been offered before, notably by F. Cayré, Aug. Mag. 2.615, by Kusch, and in my Augustine [Boston, 1985], 113-123.) This observation is fully consonant with the pattern of intellectus fidei descried by du Roy in A.'s early works: du Roy 419: `Cette dépendance de la création à l'égard de la Trinité créatrice est la clé de tous les mystères.' du Roy had reservations about Kusch's thesis (du Roy 348n2), especially over the way Kusch oversystematized and forced the texts; but even Kusch did not make the precise identification made here between each of the last three books and one person of the trinity: he included Bk. 10 in his pattern in a way that blurs the underlying structure.

(3) The roles of God are contrasted at every stage in these books with the condition of the human creature, in whom the image and likeness of the triune God is reflected: so Bk. 11 sees humanity bound in time,³ Bk. 12, humanity struggling to interpret the words of scripture in order to know the Word, and Bk. 13, humanity acting out its redemption in the church under the guidance of the Spirit. Hence there is an implicit portrayal of human nature, particularly as represented in the redeemed soul of A., where A. now stands for all those who are redeemed by divine grace. From here on (see on 11.1.1, `ut dicamus omnes'), A. presents conf. as a work in which the reader is to share equally: these are now `confessions' in which the reader is invited to join. Hence the humanity presented here in the image and likeness of God is less Augustine and more Everyman than was the case before. Warrant for this may be found at Plotinus 5.3.7.1-6, alla ton theon theôrei, eipoimen an. all' ei ton theon phinôskein auton tis homologêsei, kai tautêi sunchôrein anankasthêsetai kai heauton ginôskein. kai gar hisa echei par' ekeinou gnôsetai, kai ha edôke, kai ha dunatai ekeinôs. tauta de mathôn kai gnous kai tautêi heauton gnôsetai.

(4) Within the individual Bks. 11-13, other structural principles evolve to respond to the subject matter of each book. Bk. 11 in particular is notorious among students of the history of philosophy for its extensive meditation on Time. Discussion here of A.'s treatment is firmly planted in the wider context of conf. Fuller independent discussions of the philosophical and historical significance of A.'s treatment of Time are available; see particularly the commentary of E. P. Meijering, Augustin über Schöpfung, Ewigkeit und Zeit: das elfte Buch der Bekenntnisse (Leiden, 1979);⁴ U. Duchrow, Zsch. für Theol. u. Kirche 63(1966), 267-88; O'Daly 152-161 (good on the substantive links, esp. theological, with the rest of conf.); and R. Sorabji, Time, Creation and the Continuum (Ithaca, 1983 = Sorabji, Time); an older study, now almost a period piece, retains much interest for the philosophical consideration of the issues here: J. Guitton, Le temps et l'éternité chez Plotin et Saint-Augustin (Paris, 1933; 3rd ed. with new preface, 1959); ranging further afield into purely philosophical discussion are E. A. Schmidt, Zeit und Geschichte bei Augustin (Sitzungsberichte der Heidelberg. Akad. Wiss., Philos.-Hist. Klasse, 1985, Ber. 3), and C. Kirwan, Augustine (London, 1989), and see H.-J. Kaiser, Augustinus: Zeit und Memoria (Bonn, 1969). Paul Ricoeur's Time and Narrative (Chicago, 1984-88) opens (1.5-30) with a meditation on A.'s view of time, then continues to a similar discussion of Aristotle's Poetics, as the basis for wide-ranging discussions (recurring in later volumes) of the nature of narrative.

Lieu, Manichaeism 8, prints a Chinese Manichean text on the battle between light and darkness in past, present, and future. That text has parallels in Manichean doctrine as known to A. (Lieu suggests esp. c. Fel. 2.1, as well as c. Fel. 1.6, 1.9, 1.10, c. Faust. 13.6, 28.5); what is of interest here is the possibility that `Past, Present, and Future' (see on 11.20.26) may have held for A. a possibility of dangerous misinterpretation that he allayed by his own more conventional discussion here. Certainly Manichees were among his clearest targets in this book already (see on 11.10.12), and cf. Mayer, Zeichen 2.151, `Augustins Theorie der Zeit hat eine deutliche antimanichäische Pointe. Dies wird schon daraus ersichtlich, dass er seine tiefsinnigen Spekulationen über die Zeit fast ausschliesslich in seinen Kommentaren zu der von dem Manichäern am meisten gehassten biblischen Schrift, der Genesis, entwickelte.' The broad outlines of Bk. 11 are clear and simple.

11.1.1 - 11.2.4

Introduction: A. as bishop

11.3.5 - 11.31.41

Genesis 1.1

11.10.12 - 11.13.16

A riddle: on the eternity of God

11.14.17 - 11.28.38

Time

11.29.39 - 11.31.41

Time and Eternity

11.1.1

The triadic image of the trinity is reflected in the structure of this paragraph: first, God's esse (`aeternitas' in the first line), then his nosse (`novit pater vester'), then his velle (`quoniam tu prior voluisti').

aeternitas: Eternity is close to God's essence: en. Ps. 101. s. 2.10, `aeternitas, ipsa dei substantia est' (though this is a predication that A. can distribute in similarly absolute terms to more than one subject; cf. en. Ps. 109.12, `haec claritas dei est ineffabilis lux, fons lucis sine commutabilitate, veritas sine defectu, sapientia in seipsa manens, innovans omnia: haec substantia dei est'). Also part of the triad aeternitas [1], veritas [2], caritas [3]: see on 7.10.16; and see 4.16.31, `domus nostra, aeternitas tua'. For the persistence of aeternitas in such triad thought, with different other elements, see trin. 6.10.11, `quidam cum vellet brevissime singularum in trinitate personarum insinuare propria, “aeternitas” inquit “in patre, species in imagine, usus in munere”.' (The text there goes on to discuss species and pulchritudo as characteristic of the Son.) On aeternitas, see G. J. P. O'Daly, `Aeternitas', Aug.-Lex. 1.159-164.

ad tempus: `in time' (cf. 13.37.52); civ. 11.21, `non enim more nostro ille vel quod futurum est prospicit vel quod praesens est aspicit vel quod praeteritum est respicit, sed alio modo quodam a nostrarum cogitationum consuetudine longe alteque diverso. ille quippe non ex hoc in illud cogitatione mutata sed omnino incommutabiliter videt, ita ut illa quidem quae temporaliter fiunt et futura nondum sint et praesentia iam sint et praeterita iam non sint, ipse vero haec omnia stabili ac sempiterna praesentia comprehendat.'

cur ergo: G-M adduce 10.2.2-10.4.6, for the fuller inquiry into his own motives of confessing; cf. 2.3.5, `cui narro haec?'

affectum meum excito in te: retr. 2.6.1, `confessionum mearum libri tredecim et de malis et de bonis meis deum laudant iustum et bonum, atque in eum excitant humanum intellectum et affectum.' Cf. 1.1.1, `excitas' and 5.1.1, `excitasti'.

ut dicamus omnes: a device from preaching: cf. en. Ps. 62.5. `dicamus ergo nos, “sitivit tibi anima mea,” omnes dicamus, quia in concordia Christi omnes una anima sumus.'

magnus dominus et laudabilis valde: Ps. 47.2, `magnus dominus et laudabilis valde in civitate dei nostri, in monte sancto eius'; Ps. 95.4, `magnus dominus et laudabilis nimis'; Ps. 144.3, `magnus dominus et laudabilis valde et magnitudinis eius non est finis; laudabo nomen tuum in saeculum et in saeculum saeculi.' See on 1.1.1; the most important change is that now A. imagines his readers joining with him in this confessio (Knauer 153-154). It is perhaps significant that here the text follows scripture's ipsissima verba more closely. See on 10.43.70 for other connections between this hinge of conf. and the situation at the outset. Cf. (in view of the structural similarities noted on 10.42.67) civ. 11.1, `civitatem dei dicimus, cuius ea scriptura testis est quae non fortuitis motibus animorum, sed plane summae dispositione providentiae super omnes omnium gentium litteras omnia sibi genera ingeniorum humanorum divina excellens auctoritate subiecit. ibi quippe scriptum est, “gloriosa dicta sunt de te, civitas dei.” et in alio psalmo legitur, “magnus dominus et laudabilis nimis in civitate dei nostri, in monte sancto eius, dilatans exultationes universae terrae”; et paulo post in eodem psalmo.'

iam dixi: 2.1.1, `amore amoris tui facio istuc'.

veritas ait: Jn. 14.6; see on 10.40.65.

novit pater vester: Mt. 6.8, `scit enim pater vester quid vobis necessarium sit antequam petatis ab eo' --from the sermon on the mount, of which held A. a high opinion: s. dom. m. 1.1.1, `sermonem quem locutus est dominus noster Iesus Christus in monte, sicut in evangelio secundum Mattheum legimus, si quis pie sobrieque consideraverit, puto quod inveniet in eo, quantum ad mores optimos pertinet, perfectum vitae christianae modum.' He dealt with the implicit issues at mag. 1.2, `nescire te arbitror non ob aliud nobis praeceptum esse ut in clausis cubiculis oremus, quo nomine significantur mentis penetralia, nisi quod deus, ut nobis quod cupimus praestet, commemorari aut doceri nostra locutione non quaerit.' For his fullest exposition, see s. dom. m. 2.3.14, quoted on 9.13.36; a similar doctrine at s. 80.2-3.

priusquam: 10.2.2 (`prius' 3x); 13.1.1, `nunc invocantem te ne deseras, qui priusquam invocarem praevenisti [--> 1.1.1, `praedicare'] et institisti crebrescens multimodis vocibus ut audirem de longinquo [--> 7.10.16, `clamasti de longinquo' ] et converterer et vocantem me invocarem te.'

misericordias tuas super nos: Ps. 32.22, `fiat misericordia tua, domine, super nos, sicut speravimus in te.'

liberes: See on 10.33.49.

pauperes spiritu . . . pacifici: From the beatitudes: Mt. 5.3-9, `beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum, (4) beati mites, quoniam ipsi haereditate possidebunt terram, (5) beati lugentes, quoniam ipsi consolabuntur, (6) beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt iustitiam, quoniam ipsi saturabuntur, (7) beati misericordes, quoniam ipsorum miserebitur, (8) beati mundi corde, quoniam ipsi deum videbunt, (9) beati pacifici, quoniam ipsi filii dei vocabuntur.' s. dom. m. 1.1.3-1.2.9, `superbi ergo appetant et diligant regna terrarum; beati autem pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum. . . . (4), mites autem sunt qui cedunt improbitatibus, et non resistunt malo, sed “vincunt in bono malum.” . . . (5) luctus est tristitia de amissione carorum. conversi autem ad deum ea quae in hoc mundo cara amplectebantur amittunt. . . . (6) esuriunt et sitiunt . . . . iam istos amatores dicit veri et inconcussi boni. illo ergo cibo saturabuntur de quo ipse dominus dicit, “meus cibus est ut faciam voluntatem patris mei,” quod est iustitia . . . . (7) beatos esse dicit qui subveniunt miseris, quoniam eis ita rependitur. . . . (8) hoc est enim mundum cor quod est simplex cor. et quemadmodum lumen hoc videri non potest nisi oculis mundis, ita nec deus videtur nisi mundum sit illud quo videri potest. . . . (9) in pace perfectio est, ubi nihil repugnat; et ideo filii dei pacifici, quoniam nihil resistit deo, et utique filii similitudinem patris habere debent.' He continues at s. dom. m. 1.3.10-1.4.11 (as also at s. 347.3.3), to expound their significance as a reflection of Is. 11.2-3, the seven `operations' of the Holy Spirit, according to this scheme:

-- pauperes spiritu -- timor domini

-- mites -- pietas

-- lugentes -- scientia

-- esurientes -- fortitudo

-- misericordes -- consilium

-- mundi corde -- intellectus

-- pacifici -- sapientia `id est contemplatio veritatis' Then at s. dom. m. 2.11.38, he links both Is. 11.2-3 and the beatitudes to the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer. See also s. 53.

pauperes spiritu: 8.6.15 (of the monks outside Trier), `spiritu pauperes, qualium est regnum caelorum'; sim. at 4.1.1, and notably at 11.31.41 (last words of this book).

misericordes: 9.13.35, `et promisisti misericordiam misericordibus'.

confiterer tibi . . . quoniam bonus es: Ps. 117.1, `confitemini domino quoniam bonus est, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius'; also echoed at 5.9.17.

11.2.2

This chapter has given some the impression that A. had wearied of the task of narration and was in a hurry to move on. But it is hard to believe that the man who would write civ. and trin. and Gn. litt. and bapt. and c. Faust. and en. Ps. and Io. ev. tr. and c. Iul. and c. Iul. imp. could weary of a literary task. A simpler interpretation is that the narrative has come so far that the relative value of meditatio in lege dei has increased vis-à-vis the value of continuing `narrative'. This encourages us to look closely just where narrative breaks off and see what gave it higher relative value to that point, and why the relative value changed. We are now in the post-NT times of A.'s life, in hoc interim saeculo (civ. 11.1), between first and second coming, when incident and event and sequence are of less importance than in the prophetic and evangelic days that went before.

For a less schematic portrait of the bishop at work, see on 13.23.34.

lingua calami: Ps. 44.2, `lingua mea calamus scribae velociter scribentis'; other pieces of the metaphor at 12.6.6, `ore meo et calamo meo', and at 5.1.1, `de manu linguae meae'.

praedicare verbum et sacramentum tuum dispensare: 1 Cor. 4.1, `sic nos existimet homo, quasi ministros Christi et dispensatores mysteriorum dei'; cf. there 1 Cor. 4.5, `quoadusque veniat dominus qui et inluminabit abscondita tenebrarum et manifestabit consilia cordium'. The phrase epitomizes the demands of ordained ministry, demands whose burdens he always felt. They came to him as a surprise: ep. 21.3 (to Valerius in 391), `quod verum est, nondum sciebam quid mihi deesset ad tale opus [i.e., the priesthood], . . . quod si propterea in re ipsa didici quid sit homini necessarium, qui populo ministrat sacramentum et verbum dei'. His fullest reflections on his office are to be found in s. 339.1 (= s. Frang. 2.1: on the anniversary of his consecration), `de cuius pondere etiamsi mihi dies noctesque cogitandum sit, nescio quo tamen modo anniversarius iste dies impingit eam sensibus meis, ut ab ea cogitanda omnino dissimulare non possim.' So s. 339.3.3-4 (s. Frang. 2.4-5), `minister sum, paterfamilias non sum. (339.4) . . . praedicare, arguere, corripere, aedificare, pro unoquoque satagere magnum onus, magnum pondus, magnus labor. quis non refugiat istum laborem?' (See also s. 340, a reworking of an Augustinian original by Caesarius of Arles.)

stillae temporum: metaphor from the workings of a water-clock; ep. 110.5, `sed, mi frater, et tu credo quod noveris quanta sint in manibus meis, quibus adversus curas quas nostrae servitutis necessitas habet, vix mihi paucissimae guttae temporis stillantur, quas aliis rebus si impendero, contra officium meum mihi facere videor'; ep. 261.1, `pauculae temporum stillae' (quoted further below on `necessitatibus'); trin. 1.3.5, `ego tamen lege domini meditor, si non die ac nocte, saltem quibus temporum particulis possum.'

olim: `seit lange', best represented in English with a present perfect progressive: `for a long time I have been desiring' : 1.6.9, `et ecce infantia mea olim mortua est et ego vivo', 6.7.12, `dixeras enim iam tu olim [in scriptura]', 8.12.30, 9.7.16. Cf. esp. ep. 52.4, `sed nescio quae carnalis consuetudo, frater Severine, ibi vos tenet; et olim doleo, olim gemo maxime prudentiam tuam cogitans, et olim te videre desidero, ut de hac re tecum loquerer.'

meditari in lege tua: Ps. 1.2, `sed in lege domini fuit voluntas eius, et in lege eius meditabitur die ac nocte';<sup>5</sup> en. Ps. 1.2, `aut sine intermissione intellegendum est, aut “die” in laetitia, “nocte” in tribulationibus.' See on 9.2.2; cf. 9.1.1, 9.4.10, 11.2.3. en. Ps. 118. s. 19.4, `“quia lex”, inquit, “tua meditatio mea est.” . . . hoc dicendum putavi, ne quisquam, cum totam legem memoriae mandaverit eamque creberrima recordatione cantaverit, non tacens quod praecipit nec tamen vivens ut praecipit, arbitretur se fecisse quod legit: “quia lex tua meditatio mea est.” . . . haec meditatio amantis est cogitatio, et tantum amantis, ut caritas non frigescat huius meditationis suae, quantalibet abundantia constipetur iniquitatis alienae.'

imperitiam: 10.43.70, `considerabo mirabilia de lege tua. tu scis imperitiam meam et infirmitiatem meam.'

inluminationis tuae: Ps. 17.29, `quoniam tu inluminabis lucernam meam, domine, deus meus, inluminabis tenebras meas'; en. Ps. 17.29, `quoniam non est lumen nostrum ex nobis; sed tu inluminabis lucernam meam, domine. . . . nos enim peccatis nostris tenebrae sumus.' 6.1.1, `tenebras meas', 7.1.2, 11.25.32, 13.8.9.

quousque devoretur: Cf. 1 Cor. 15.54, `absorpta est mors in victoria'; 2 Cor. 5.4, `nolumus expoliari sed supervestiri, ut absorbeatur quod mortale est, a vita.'

et nolo in aliud horae diffluant: See on 6.3.3, for the parallels between A.'s portrayal there of Ambrose (divided between study of scripture, service to his fellows, and necessary refreshment).

necessitatibus: 10.40.65 (on the threshold of mystical ascent), `ab actionibus necessitatis, quantum relaxari possum, ad istam voluptatem refugio.' Similar reflections (arising from the lilies of the field of Mt. 6.28-30) at s. 51.14.24, and (arising from Martha and Mary in Lk. 10) at s. 255.2.2, 255.6.6, `duo sunt vitae: una pertinens ad delectationem, altera pertinens ad necessitatem. quae ad necessitatem, laboriosa est; quae ad delectationem, voluptuosa est. sed intra intro, noli foris quaerere delectationem, ne tumescas de illa et per angustum intrare non possis. . . . “Martha, Martha, circa multa es occupata, porro unum est necessarium.” [Lk. 10.42] unum verum: multa non erunt necessaria. antequam perveniamus ad unum, multis indigemus. unum nos extendat, ne multa distendant et abrumpant ab uno. . . . non distentus, sed extentus' (there follows Phil. 3.13 [as quoted at Ostia]). Closest parallel to the expression here is ep. 261.1, `[mihi] occupatissimo scilicet ecclesiasticis curis, a quibus pauculae temporum stillae vix recreant vel cogitantem aliquid vel ea quae magis urgent et mihi videntur pluribus profutura dictantem vel reficientem corporis vires nostrae necessarias servituti.' Cf. ep. 151.13 (explaining why he left Carthage after the execution of his friend Marcellinus), `altera causa est, quod statui, si dominus velit, quantum mihi ab allis occupationibus quas ecclesiae cui proprio munere servio necessitas flagitat datur temporis, id totum impendere labori studiorum ad ecclesiasticas litteras pertinentium, ubi me arbitror, si dei misericordiae placet, etiam posteris aliquid profuturum.' He finally escapes from some of these burdens in 426, with the designation of his successor, after a failed bargain that had been supposed to relieve him of ordinary chores on weekdays (full and circumstantial account at ep. 213.5-6).

intentionis animi: See on 9.10.23 (Ostia), quoting Phil. 3.13.

servitutis: Far more burdensome than sacramental ministry was the judicial role of the bishop (van der Meer 255-270): op. mon. 29.37, `tumultuosissimas perplexitates causarum alienarum pati de negotiis saecularibus vel iudicando dirimendis vel interveniendo praecidendis'.

11.2.3

This paragraph and the following one, under the heading `Prière', are the only ones in Bk. 11 whose translation is set per cola et commata in BA. Knauer 68: `Das Gebet . . . gliedert sich in zwei Abschnitte, deren erster in die genaue Angabe dessen einmündet, was er in den letzten Büchern der Konfessionen erklären will: "ab usque `principio' in quo `fecisti caelum et terram' usque ad `regnum' tecum perpetuum `sanctae civitatis' tuae," . . . worunter man hier wird verstehen müssen: von der Genesis bis zur Apokalypse. Der zweite bezeichnet das, was er in der Bibel finden will: Christus.'

intende orationi meae: Ps. 60.2, `exaudi, deus, deprecationem meam, intende orationi meae. a finibus terrae ad te clamavi dum angeretur cor meum'; cf. Ps. 4.2, `cum invocarem, exaudivit me deus iustitiae meae; in tribulatione dilatasti mihi: miserere mei et exaudi orationem meam.'

exaudiat desiderium meum: Ps. 9.38, `desiderium pauperum exaudivit dominus' (cf. 11.1.1, `pauperes spiritu', and see `pauper sum' here); en. Ps. 9.33, `desiderium illud quo aestuabant, cum in angustiis et tribulationibus huius saeculi domini diem concupiscerent . . . haec est cordis praeparatio, de qua in alio psalmo canitur, “paratum cor meum, deus, paratum cor meum” [Ps. 56.8], de qua dicit apostolus: “si autem quod non videmus speramus, per patientiam exspectamus.” [Rom. 8.25]'

usui: doctr. chr. 1.4.4ff. Cf. Hil. Pict., trin. 2.1, `aeternitas in patre, species in imagine, usus in munere', as quoted by A. at trin. 6.10.11.

fraternae caritati: See 10.3.3 - 10.4.6. Exegesis for the benefit of his brethren: ep. 73.2.5 (to Jerome), `et si quid in hac re [i.e., scientia divinarum scripturarum] habeo facultatis, utcumque impendo populo dei. vacare autem studiosis diligentius quam populi audiunt instruendis propter ecclesiasticas occupationes omnino non possum.'

sacrificem: Confession as sacrifice appears at the beginning of three central books, 5.1.1, 8.1.1, 9.1.1; cf. 12.24.33, `qui vovi tibi sacrificium confessionis in his litteris'.

da quod offeram tibi: 10.29.40, etc., `da quod iubes et iube quod vis'; 11.22.28, `da quod amo: amo enim, et hoc tu dedisti'; cf. Ps. 65.15, `holacausta medullata offeram tibi'.

inops enim et pauper sum: Ps. 39.18, `ego autem mendicus sum et pauper, dominus sollicitus est mei'; Ps. 85.1, `inclina domine aurem tuam et exaudi, quoniam egenus et inops ego sum'; en. Ps. 85.2, `ad inopem et egenum inclinat aurem, id est, ad humilem et ad confitentem, ad indigentem misericordia, non ad saturatum et extollentem se et iactantem quasi nihil ei desit et dicentem, “gratias tibi, quia non sum sicut publicanus iste.” dives enim pharisaeus iactabat merita sua; inops publicanus confitebatur peccata sua.' See above, and cf. on 10.38.63, `egenus et pauper ego sum' and 10.43.70, `pauper cupio'.

tu dives . . . te: Rom. 10.12, `nam idem dominus omnium, dives in omnes qui invocant illum.'

circumcide: Exod. 6.12, `respondit Moyses coram domino, ecce filii Israhel non audiunt me et quomodo audiet Pharao praesertim cum incircumcisus sim labiis?' (For the Hebrew and Greek of this easily-mistranslated Exodus text, see Knauer 69n3. The image seizes the attention and invites neodule readings, e.g., E. Vance, Mervelous Signals [Lincoln, Neb., 1986], 7-11.) Hier. in Gal. 5.6 (386: known to Aug. by 394/5, cf. A. ep. 28.3.3), `nihil itaque prodest in Christo carnis circumcisio, sed cordis et aurium, quae aufert illud opprobrium Iudaeorum, “ecce incircumcisae aures vestrae et non potestis audire” [Jer. 6.10]; prodest circumcisio labiorum quam iuxta humilitatem necdum se habere causabatur Moyses, ut in hebraico scriptum est: “ego autem sum praeputium habens in labiis.”'

temeritate: Temeritas corresponds to interiora as mendacium to exteriora; it recurs as a vice of scriptural interpretation at 12.25.34 and 12.25.35; cf. Gn. litt. imp. 1.1, `temeritas adserendae incertae dubiaeque opinionis difficile sacrilegii crimen evitat'; Gn. c. man. 1.2.3, Gn. litt. 1.19.39-1.20.40, 7.1.1, 12.1.1, `temeritatemque adfirmandi amoventes a lectore, ubi non valuimus praebere scientiae firmitatem'.

labia mea: Knöll introduced, and Vega, Skutella, and Verheijen (but not Pellegrino) retained, a comma before these words, but it is hard to see why; labia are, aptly, the place where interior and exterior meet.

castae deliciae: Divine deliciae also at 2.2.4, 10.24.35, 12.16.23, 13.18.22, 13.21.29.

domine, attende: Jer. 18.19, `attende domine ad me'; cf. Ps. 26.7, `exaudi domine vocem meam qua clamavi ad te, miserere mei et exaudi me'; Ps. 85.3, `miserere mei domine quoniam ad te clamavi tota die.'

statimque: Hrdlicka 75, `at the same time, simul.' Without the adverb it might be confusing to suggest that God is light and power to those entirely bereft of those qualities and then to suggest that he is light and power to those most in possession of those qualities. Where the apparent contradiction was sharper, A. used simul at 4.4.7, `deus ultionum et fons misericordiarum simul'.

virtus: Though common enough in oblique cases in conf. of `virtue' in our sense, in the nominative singular, virtus is only used as a metaphor for God: 1.1.1, 1.13.21, 7.17.23, 10.1.1.

clamantem de profundo: Ps. 129.1-2, `de profundis clamavi ad te, domine, (2) domine, exaudi vocem meam'; en. Ps. 129.1, `etenim vox haec ascendentis est, pertinens ad canticum graduum. . . . profundum enim nobis est vita ista mortalis. quisquis se in profundo intellexerit, clamat, gemit, suspirat, donec de profundo eruatur, et veniat ad eum qui super omnes abyssos sed et super cherubim . . . donec ad eum veniat anima, donec ab illo liberetur imago ipsius, quod est homo, quae in hoc profundo tamquam assiduis fluctibus exagitata, detrita est. . . . sed cum de profundo clamat, surgit de profundo, et ipse clamor non eum permittit multum in imo esse.' Also at 2.3.5, 12.15.22.

quo ibimus: Ps. 138.7, `quo ibo a spiritu tuo? et quo a facie tua fugiam?' (See on 1.18.28.)

tuus est dies et tua est nox: Ps. 73.16, `tuus est dies, et tua est nox, tu perfecisti solem et lunam.'

pulsantes: Mt. 7.7-8, `pulsate et aperietur vobis . . . (8) et pulsanti aperietur.' (See on 1.1.1 for the pervasive influence of this text, from 1.1.1 to 13.38.53 [Knauer 157, `So werden also die drei letzten Bücher durch das Matthäus zitat zusammengeschlossen.']; note just below echoes at 11.2.4, 11.3.5.) As advice for exegetes at Gn. c. man. 2.2.3 and Io. ev. tr. 22.9 (`et hic secretum in verbo hoc clausum est: pulsetur, ut aperiatur').

cervos suos: Ps. 28.9, `vox domini perficientis cervos et revelabit [see `perfice me et revela mihi eas'] silvas et in templo eius unusquisque dicit gloriam' (cervos in Ps. Rom. and Ps. Gall., following LXX; Pss. Veron. and Sinait. have cedros); en. Ps. 28.9, `vox enim domini primo perfecit superatores et repulsores venenosarum linguarum. . . . tunc eis revelabit opacitates divinorum librorum et umbracula mysteriorum, ubi cum libertate pascantur. . . . et in ecclesia eius omnis in spem aeternam regeneratus laudat deum pro suo quisque dono, quod a sancto spiritu accepit.' Cf. Ps. 41.2, `cervus ad fontes'.

perfice me: Ps. 16.5, `ad perficiendos gressus meos in semitis tuis'.

gaudium: Divine gaudium at 2.2.2, 2.10.18, 6.3.3, 7.7.11, 9.10.25, 10.22.32, 10.23.33, 11.8.10.

vox tua super affluentiam voluptatum: Ps. 118.72, `bonum mihi lex oris tui super milia auri et argenti'; en. Ps. 118. s. 17.10, `ut amplius diligat caritas legem dei quam diligit cupiditas milia auri et argenti.' Cf. Cant. 8.5, `deliciis affluens', Is. 66.11, `deliciis affluatis'; contrast 6.16.26, `in quantalibet affluentia carnalium voluptatum'.

da quod amo . . . dedisti: Repeated exactly at 11.22.28, and cf. 10.29.40, etc., `da quod iubes, et iube quod vis,' and see `da quod offeram tibi' above.

audiam vocem laudis: Ps. 25.7, `ut audiam vocem laudis, et enarrem universa mirabilia tua'; en. Ps. 25. en. 2.11, `quid est “ut audiam vocem laudis?” ut intellegam, inquit. hoc est enim audire coram deo, non quomodo sonos istos quos multi audiunt et multi non audiunt. quam multi ad nos audientes sunt et ad deum surdi sunt! . . . audire vocem laudis est intellegere intus, quia quidquid in te mali est de peccatis, tuum est; quidquid boni in iustificationibus, dei est.' en. Ps. 25. en. 1.7, `ut discam quemadmodum te laudem. . . . et cum didicero, exponam omnia mirabilia tua.' See 11.29.39, 12.15.22.

considerem mirabilia de lege tua: Ps. 118.18, `revela oculos meos et considerabo mirabilia de lege tua' (10.43.70, `et considerabo mirabilia de lege tua').

ab usque principio . . . civitatis tuae: The promise made here is kept, in the form of a hexameron commentary. We move from the origins of creation to the final rest of the sabbath in the allegorical reading of the seventh day (13.38.53). Failure to see this led Courcelle, Recherches 23-25, to the conclusion that what we have in conf. is only an aborted fragment, that A. intended to undertake a systematic exposition of all of scripture (`l'exposé détaillé de la doctrine chrétienne, fondé sur toutes les écritures, à partir du début de la Genèse'). Cf. Gn. 1.1, `in principio fecit deus caelum et terram', and Jn. 8.25, `principium quia et loquor vobis'.

sanctae civitatis tuae: Apoc. 21.2, `et civitatem sanctam Hierusalem novam vidi descendentem de caelo a deo'; Apoc. 21.10, `ostendit mihi civitatem sanctam Hierusalem descendentem de caelo a deo.'

11.2.4

miserere . . . meum: Ps. 26.7, `exaudi domine vocem meam qua clamavi ad te; miserere mei et exaudi me.' Cf. 11.2.3, `et misericordia exaudiat desiderium meum' (Ps. 9b.38). The verb exaudire does not occur again in conf.; misereri occurs only twice, at almost the end of Bk. 12: 12.27.37, 12.30.41 (Knauer 71n4).

quod non sit: sc. desiderium. The lines that follow consider two of the three temptations of 1 Jn. 2.16 (concupiscentia carnis and ambitio saeculi). A.'s motive here is curiositas, of the kind he finds licit.

quaerentibus . . . tuam: Mt. 6.33, `quaerite primum regnum dei et iustitiam eius et haec omnia apponentur vobis'; text follows s. dom. m. 2.16.53, `regnum ergo et iustitia dei bonum nostrum est, et hoc appetendum et ibi finis constituendus, propter quod omnia faciamus quaecumque facimus. sed quia in hac vita militamus, ut ad illud regnum pervenire possimus, quae vita sine his necessariis agi non potest, “apponentur haec vobis,” inquit, “sed vos regnum dei et iustitiam primum quaerite!” cum enim dixit illud primum, significavit quia hoc posterius quaerendum est non tempore sed dignitate.'

vide, deus meus: Lam. 1.9, `vide, domine, afflictionem meam, quoniam erectus est inimicus'; Ps. 9.14, `miserere mei, domine, vide humilitatem ab inimicis meis.'

delectationes: Ps. 118.85, `narraverunt mihi iniqui delectationes sed non sicut lex tua, domine'; en. Ps. 118. s. 20.5, `eas sic transferre voluerunt interpretes nostri, quas Graeci adoleschias vocant, quod usque adeo uno verbo nequaquam dici latine potest, ut aliqui delectationes, aliqui fabulationes eas dicerent; ut non immerito accipiatur esse quidem illas exercitationes, sed in sermone cum quadam delectatione. has vero habent in diversis sectis ac professionibus et litterae saeculares et Iudaeorum quae deuterosis nuncupatur, continens praeter divinarum canonem scripturarum milia fabularum.' (His sensitivity to the translation may only have come after conf., perhaps under influence of Jerome: Psalt. Gall. has fabulationes; deuterosis is a word A. uses elsewhere only at c. adv. leg. 2.1.2, 2.2.6; cf. Hier. in Mat. 22.23, `pharisaei traditionum et observationum, quas illi deuteroseis vocant, iustitiam praeferebant.')

in conspectu misericordiae tuae: Ps. 18.15, `et per hoc ut complaceant eloquia oris mei et meditatio cordis mei in conspectu tuo semper'; en. Ps. 18. en. 2.16, `superba anima in conspectu hominum vult placere; humilis anima in occulto, ubi deus videt, vult placere.' Dan. 3.40, `sicut in holocausto arietum . . . sic fiat sacrificium nostrum, in conspectu tuo hodie, ut placeat tibi, quoniam non est confusio confidentibus in te.'

invenire . . . gratiam ante te: Exod. 33.13 (Moses speaks), `si ergo inveni gratiam in conspectu tuo, ostende mihi faciem tuam, ut sciam te, et inveniam gratiam ante oculos tuos.' Cf. also Mt. 7.7-8 (see on 11.2.3).

virum dexterae tuae: Ps. 79.18, `fiat manus tua super virum dexterae tuae et super filium hominis quem confirmasti tibi.' This is the clearest text in conf. to show that dextera = Christ (after the ascension, in full power and glory: see on `sedet . . .' below) for A.; other passages: 8.1.2 (`et dextera tua suscepit me'), 9.1.1, 9.4.9, 9.13.35, 10.31.44 (`et invoco dexteram tuam'), 10.41.66 (`et dexteram tuam invocavi ad salutem meam'), 10.43.69, 11.29.39 (`et me suscepit dextera tua in domino meo').

filium hominis: Mt. 8.20, Mk. 2.10, et saep.; in conf. only here and 11.29.39 (there also with mediator).

mediatorem tuum et nostrum: 1 Tim. 2.5, `mediator dei atque hominum' (see on 10.42.67).

non quaerentes te: Rom. 10.20, `Esaias autem audet, et dicit. “inventus sum a non quaerentibus me”'; Is. 65.1, `quaesierunt me qui ante non interrogabant, invenerunt qui non quaesierunt me. dixi: “ecce ego, ecce ego.”'

verbum tuum: Jn. 1.1, 1.3.

in adoptionem: Gal. 4.4-5, `at ubi venit plenitudo temporis, misit deus filium suum factum ex muliere, factum sub lege, (5) ut eos qui sub lege erant redimeret, ut adoptionem filiorum reciperemus.'

sedet . . . te interpellat pro nobis: Rom. 8.34, `qui est ad dexteram dei et interpellat pro nobis'; see on 10.43.69.

in quo sunt omnes: Col. 2.2-3, `in agnitionem mysterii dei, Christi, (3) in quo sunt omnes thesauri sapientiae et scientiae absconditi' (also at 10.43.70). See on 13.18.23.

ipsos: BA makes a case for the reading of two minor manuscripts, ipsum; but it is to be explained as an assimilation of number to illo in the next line: the inconsistency does make the line harder to grasp. Take the antecedent of `ipsos' to be `thesauri'; `de illo' then gives the reading, `Moses wrote libros tuos concerning him--your word'; `hoc' then is correlative, `This Moses says, so [you may therefore infer] this truth itself says.' In the allegorical reading of the OT, such as A. proposes now to undertake, veritas (= Christ) is no less present than, say, in A.'s memory. The exercise of seeking out the treasures is a continuation, or development, of the search for God in memory in Bk. 10.

Moyses: Jn. 5.46, `si enim crederetis Moysi, crederetis forsan et mihi, de me enim ille scripsit'; en. Ps. 64.6, `est quidem splendor in facie Moysi, tamquam in facie carnali et mortali; numquid diuturnus aut aeternus esse posset? morte enim succedente, profecto auferretur. splendor autem gloriae beati domini nostri Iesu Christi sempiternus est. sed illud figura erat temporalis, hoc autem quod illa figura significabatur, veritas. legunt itaque, et non intellegunt Christum; non perducunt intentionem usque in finem, quia velum oppositum negat eis adspectum splendoris interioris.'

hoc veritas ait: Jn. 14.6.

11.3.5

audiam: The text is the vehicle for oral discourse, hence the regret here that he cannot confer with the author of scripture; text is unreliable and author is unreachable, hence other ways of verifying what is read are invoked: ep. 19.1, `nemo enim quod legit in codice ipso cernit verum esse aut in eo qui scripserit, sed in se potius, si eius menti quoddam non vulgariter candidum et a faece corporis remotissimum lumen veritatis impressum est'; see also 13.15.16 and en. Ps. 103. s. 1.8 quoted there.

audiam et intellegam: BA equates to crede ut intellegas (Io. ev. tr. 29.6, `intellegere vis? crede. deus enim per prophetam dixit, “nisi crederitis, non intellegetis” [Is. 7.9 (LXX)]. . . . intellectus enim merces est fidei. ergo noli quaerere intellegere ut credas, sed crede ut intellegas'); correctly, if we bear in mind the insistence at 1.1.1 that faith depends on antecedent preaching, and cf. Rom. 10.17, `fides ex auditu; auditus autem per verbum Christi' (leading to the interesting admission at en. Ps. 118. s. 32.4, `quamvis enim deus doceat intrinsecus, tamen fides ex auditu est' --a triumph of scripture over Platonism in A.'s thought).

in principio: Gn. 1.1, `in principio fecit deus caelum et terram'; n.b. once for all, A. reads fecit for the Vg.'s creavit. (For an attempt to reconstruct A.'s text of Gn. 1, see preceding 13.1.1.) This exegesis of Gn. 1.1 is certainly, and deliberately, exemplary. We see how the mind of the exegete works, and we work through his text with him (as in A.'s sermons, which have the form--whatever their actual premeditation--of extemporaneous explorations). His primary datum is the original scriptural text; his deliberation arises both from scripture and from the employment of his natural reason, but other authoritative texts from scripture are invoked both as to the form (appeals to veritas for help) and as to the conclusions that can and should be drawn. Here we see the most obvious thing about A.'s relation to Platonism (so obvious that it is never mentioned), that he has clearly made a conscious decision not to invoke the Platonists as authorities. He will discuss them and their ideas, giving them credit as he does; but when he goes to allude to a secular authority, it is far more likely to be Cicero or some other `pagan' worthy than a Platonist, and then far more likely to be Plato than Plotinus.

transiit: A. was conscious of this verb as the equivalent for `Passover' (ep. 55.1.2), hence its appropriateness of Moses; and cf. Io. ev. tr. 55.1, `ideo quippe ad deum permanentem transimus, ne cum mundo transeunte transeamus.'

a te ad te: Cf. 4.9.14, `quo it aut quo fugit nisi a te placito ad te iratum?'

et si hebraea voce loqueretur: For difference of language as a sign of the need for faith to precede understanding, cf. Gn. c. man. 1.9.15, `qua enim lingua vocavit deus diem lucem, et tenebras noctem? utrum hebraea, an graeca, an latina, an aliqua alia? et sic omnia quae vocavit, quaeri potest qua lingua vocaverit. sed apud deum purus intellectus est, sine strepitu et diversitate linguarum'; sim. at en. Ps. 118. s. 18.3 (also quoting Rom. 10.17) and Io. ev. tr. 40.5.

pulsaret: Mt. 7.7-8 (11.2.3, 11.2.4).

intus . . . veritas: 10.6.10, `intus cum veritate conferunt', and see esp. mag. 11.38 quoted there.

veritas: Jn. 14.6 (as below). When A. considers how his own audience will know whether he speaks truth (10.3.3), the answer is not veritas (Christ), but caritas (Spirit). The difference may only be that between an inspired text and one that is not--but if pressed, A. might well have admitted that veritas and caritas have a part in both cases.

sine strepitu syllabarum: `Syllables' as marks of the transience and imperfection of human speech are a common topic for A.; in conf., 1.18.29, 3.6.10, 4.11.17, and often here in Bk. 11, esp. at 11.22.28 and 11.26.33; elsewhere, e.g., at qu. ev. 2.49, c. Sec. 15, Io. ev. tr. 29.4.

quo plenus: J. Balogh, Didaskaleion n. s. 4(1926), 8-10, adduces ep. 147.23.53, `beati enim mundo corde, quia ipsi deum videbunt, non cum eis sicut corpus ex aliquo loci intervallo apparebit, sed cum venerit ad eos et mansionem fecerit apud eos, quoniam sic implebuntur in omnem plenitudinem dei [Eph. 3.19], non cum fuerint et ipsi plenus deus, sed cum perfecte fuerint pleni deo.'

parce peccatis meis: In other words, as we had at 1.5.5, `miserere ut loquar', now he effectively prays, `miserere ut audiam' : both speaking and hearing require divine aid if they are to be successful. Cf. perhaps Job 14.16, `sed parce peccatis meis' (but that is Vg., not the VL version that A. regularly cites; VL reads `et nihil te latuit peccatorum meorum').

da et mihi haec intellegere: Ps. 118.34, `da mihi intellectum et scrutabor legem tuam'; Ps. 118.144, `intellectum da mihi et vivam'; Ps. 118.73, `da mihi intellectum ut discam mandata tua.' en. Ps. 118. s. 18.3, `quamvis enim, nisi aliquid intellegat, nemo possit credere in deum, tamen ipsa fide qua credit sanatur, ut intellegat ampliora. alia sunt enim quae nisi intellegamus, non credimus; et alia sunt quae nisi credamus, non intellegimus. nam cum fides sit ex auditu, auditus autem per verbum Christi, quomodo credit praedicanti fidem, qui, ut alia taceam, linguam ipsam quam loquitur non intellegit?' Yet another link to the beginning of Bk. 1: 1.1.1, `da mihi, domine, scire et intellegere'.

11.4.6

clamant quod facta sint: The same point of departure for ascent as for the ascent at Ostia (9.10.25) and for that in Bk. 10 (10.6.9): cf. Ps. 99.3. That the familiar pattern of the ascent begins again here should be no surprise; the difference between Bks. 11-13 and Bk. 10 on this score will be that 11-13 offer a meditation starting directly from scriptural authority (see on 10.40.65 for the justification of that practice).

mutantur: Mutability the signpost of whatever is not God; see on 7.1.1, `incommutabilem'.

vox dicentium est ipsa evidentia: 10.6.9, `interrogatio mea intentio mea et responsio eorum species eorum.'

qui pulcher es [2] . . . qui bonus es [3] . . . qui es [1].

pulchra sunt: 13.20.28, `et pulchra sunt omnia faciente te'.

bona sunt: Sim. at 13.31.46. vera rel. 55.113, `quae tamen omnia neque fierent a patre [1] per filium [2], neque suis finibus salva essent, nisi deus summe bonus [3] esset, qui et nulli naturae quae ab ipso bona esse posset invidit'; see Meijering 23 for numerous further references.

quo comparato: en. Ps. 134.4, `illo non comparato, sunt, quoniam ab illo sunt; illi autem comparata non sunt, quia verum esse incommutabile esse est, quod ille solus est.'

scientiae tuae [2]: In other words, `That in us which corresponds to the second person of the trinity is so faint an image of the second person as to be almost no image at all.'

11.5.7

quomodo: Cf. the last sentence of the paragraph, `dixisti', and 11.6.8, `quomodo dixisti'. The rhetoric of the paragraph reduces him, as if all unwilling, to seeing the fact of divine utterance at the root of all creation. This enables him in 11.6.8 to confront the question of utterance itself.

sicut homo artifex: Cic., orator 2.9, `nec vero ille artifex, cum faceret Iovis formam aut Minervae, contemplabatur aliquem e quo similitudinem duceret, sed ipsius in mente insidebat species pulchritudinis eximia quaedam, quam intuens in eaque defixus ad illius similitudinem artem et manum dirigebat.' lib. arb. 2.16.42, `et omnium quidem formarum corporearum artifices homines in arte habent numeros quibus coaptant opera sua, et tamdiu manus atque instrumenta in fabricando movent, donec illud quod formatur foris ad eam quae intus est lucem numerorum relatum, quantum potest, impetret absolutionem placeatque per interpretem sensum interno iudici supernos numeros intuenti'; sim. at Gn. c. man. 1.8.13 and qu. vet. t. 2.

speciem [2]: See on 1.7.12 for modus/species/ordo. The pattern presented here (matter awaiting form) anticipates his own reading of the mechanics of creation (12.3.3).

intus . . . foris: Cf. 3.6.11, `tu autem eras interior intimo meo et superior summo meo', and see on 10.27.38.

praesidentem sibi veritatem: See on 11.3.5, `intus . . . veritas'; for the wording, qu. hept. 2.67, `nisi suae menti praesidentem dominum consuleret'.

in verbo tuo: Gn. 1.1 does not say that God created heaven and earth by speaking; A.'s pretexts for this assertion are Gn. 1.3, `et dixit deus, “fiat lux”' et sim. in Gn. 1, read in light of Jn. 1.1-3, but buttressed as well by such other texts as Ps. 32.9, `quoniam ipse dixit, et facta sunt' (en. Ps. 32. en. 1.9, `ipse mandavit verbo suo et creata sunt') and Ps. 148.5, `ipse dixit et facta sunt', and Ps. 32.6, `verbo domni caeli firmati sunt'. The same phrase at 4.10.15, 11.9.11, 12.20.29 (4x), 13.20.27, 13.21.29, 13.21.31 (2x), 13.34.49; cf. 12.7.7, `in principio, quod est de te, in sapientia tua, quae nata est de substantia tua, fecisti aliquid et de nihilo'.

11.6.8

The text of Genesis 1.1ff is now rarely far from mind. It would be nugatory to mark every passage like `fieret caelum et terra', but it would be a mistake to ignore them.

quomodo dixisti: Answers elsewhere: Gn. litt. 8.18.37-8.27.50, esp. 8.27.49, `certissime tamen tenere debemus deum aut per suam substantiam loqui aut per sibi subditam creaturam; sed per substantiam suam non loqui nisi ad creandas omnes naturas, ad spiritales vero atque intellectuales non solum creandas sed etiam inluminandas, cum iam possunt capere locutionem eius, qualis est in verbo eius, quod in principio erat apud deum et deus erat verbum, per quod facta sunt omnia.' See also Gn. litt. 1.2.5, 9.2.3, en. Ps. 138.8.

vox: 102x in conf. (see on 12.11.11 for the repeated [5x in Bks. 12-13] `iam dixisti mihi, domine, voce forti in aurem interiorem').

vox de nube: Mt. 17.5 (the transfiguration), `et ecce vox de nube dicens, “hic est filius meus dilectus in quo mihi bene complacui: ipsum audite”'; Mt. 3.17 (Jesus' baptism), `et ecce vox de caelis dicens, “hic est filius meus dilectus in quo mihi complacui.”' At trin. 2.10.18, A. instances Mt. 17.5 and other texts to show that when the voice of God is heard, it is not necessary or appropriate to conclude always that it is the Word of God that is speaking; here it is useful for A.'s purposes to cite a biblical voice that is undoubtedly not the Son but the Father (creator omnium). Of biblical voices, this one, itself authorizing another voice, is privileged: s. 79, `loquitur Elias, sed “hunc audite.” loquitur Moyses, sed “hunc audite.” loquuntur prophetae, loquitur lex: sed “hunc audite,” vocem legis et linguam prophetarum. ipse in illis sonuit, ipse in se ipso quando est dignatus apparuit. “hunc audite”: hunc audiamus. quando evangelium loquebatur, putate quia nubes erat: inde nobis vox sonuit.'

illa enim vox: Io. ev. tr. 1.8, `quaecumque dicuntur et transeunt, soni sunt, litterae sunt, syllabae sunt. hoc verbum transit quod sonat.' (See 11.22.28.)

auris interior: See on 10.6.9, `homo interior', and on 10.6.8, `deum meum, lucem, vocem, odorem, cibum, amplexum interioris hominis mei', and see also 1.5.5, `aures cordis mei'. Io. ep. tr. 2.13, `ipse vobis ergo intus loquatur, quando nemo hominum illic est. . . . interior ergo magister est qui docet, Christus docet, inspiratio ipsius docet. ubi illius inspiratio et unctio illius non est, forinsecus inaniter perstrepunt verba.'

cum aeterno in silentio verbo tuo: The problematical silence of God (see on 1.1.1); the doctrine of the silent Word (oxymoron) is a forced solution.

aliud est longe: These words of the mens prudens are an answer to the rhetorical question with which the paragraph began, and the direct discourse gives the answer an air of authority: not A. speaking, but any reasonable person.

manet in aeternum: Is. 40.6-8, `omnis caro fenum et claritas hominis ut flos feni. . . . (8) exsiccatum est foenum et cecidit flos, verbum autem domini nostri manet in aeternum.'

erat iam creatura corporalis: Gn. litt. 1.9.15, `si vero temporaliter dixit, non verbo sibi coaeterno, sed per aliquam creaturam dixit temporalem. ac per hoc non erit prima creatura lux, quia iam erat, per quam temporaliter diceretur, “fiat lux.”'

11.7.9

deum apud te deum: Jn. 1.1, `et verbum erat apud deum'.

sempiterne: See on 1.6.9.

eo: G-M: `The sense of the metaphor in “eo” (i.e., “verbo”) is strong enough to prevent the use of “ab” with it.'

finitur: Looks back to 9.10.24, `et remeavimus ad strepitum oris nostri, ubi verbum et incipitur et finitur', and forward to 11.27.34, in the discussion of the fleeting transience of speech; cf. also 12.27.37, `et cum audiunt, “dixit deus, fiat” illud et “factum est” illud, cogitant verba coepta et finita, sonantia temporibus atque transeuntia.'

vera aeternitas: trin. 4.18.24, `vera autem immortalitas, vera incorruptibilitas, vera incommutabilitas, ipsa est aeternitas'; en. Ps. 101. s. 2.10, `aeternitas, ipsa dei substantia est, quae nihil habet mutabile; ibi nihil est praeteritum, quasi iam non sit; nihil est futurum, quasi nondum sit. non est ibi nisi “est”; non est ibi “fuit” et “erit”, quia et quod fuit, iam non est; et quod erit, nondum est; sed quidquid ibi est, nonnisi est.' Cf. 7.10.16, `qui novit veritatem [= verbum], novit eam [sc. lucem incommutabilem], et qui novit eam, novit aeternitatem.'

gratias ago: Common in Paul (c. 43x, cf. 1 Thess. 5.18, `in omnibus gratias agite'), and the importance underlined at Rom. 1.21 (see on 7.9.14), `non sicut deum glorificaverunt aut gratias egerunt'.

confiteor tibi: Mt. 11.25, `confiteor tibi, pater'.

verbo tibi coaeterno: Gn. litt. imp. 5.19, `verbum autem dei, per quod facta sunt omnia, nec coepit esse, nec desinet; sed sine inchoatione natum patri coaeternum est.' First in Bk. 7, at the stage of the narrative at which A. discovers the pre-existent second person of the trinity (but not the incarnate Word): 7.9.14, `coaeternus tibi', 7.21.27; then not until here; 13x in Bk. 12 (12.9.9ff).

nec tamen: Gn. litt. 4.34.53, `immo vero et prius et posterius per sex dies quae commemorata sunt facta sunt, et simul omnia facta sunt'; Gn. litt. 1.2.6, `cum enim verba sint temporis, cum dicimus “quando” et “aliquando”, aeternum tamen est in verbo dei, quando fieri aliquid debeat, et tunc fit, quando fieri debuisse in illo verbo est, in quo non est quando et aliquando, quoniam totum illud verbum aeternum est.'

11.8.10

in aeterna ratione: = `verbum tuum' = `in aeterna veritate'.

et principium est, quia et loquitur nobis: Jn. 8.24-25, `nisi credideritis [Is. 7.9 (VL)] quia ego sum, moriemini in peccatis vestris. (25) dicebant ergo ei, “tu quis es?” dixit eis Iesus, “principium quia et loquor vobis.”' This is A.'s text reconstructed from Io. ev. tr. with reference to the Wordsworth/White and Weber Vulgates, but there is evidence for quod and qui elsewhere in A.: Milne 235. The Greek is similarly perplexing: see B. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (New York, 1971), 223-224, with refs.

This whole paragraph is an extended meditation on this scriptural datum, coordinating the text to his own experience; cf. `et ideo principium . . .' below. The link between this principium and that of Gn. 1.1 and Jn. 1.1 is already present in s. 1.2.2 (391/3);<sup>6</sup> Gn. litt. 1.5.10, `principium quippe creaturae intellectualis est aeterna sapientia: quod principium manens in se incommutabiliter nullo modo cessaret occulta inspiratione vocationis loqui ei creaturae cui principium est, ut converteretur ad id ex quo esset, quo aliter formata ac perfecta esse non posset. ideoque interrogatus quis esset, respondit, “principium, quia et loquor vobis.”' For a tortured later treatment, in which `quia et loquor vobis' is taken as reference to the incarnation, cf. Io. ev. tr. 38.11, where he is probably reacting against the Porphyrian vocabulary of principia: civ. 10.24, `noluit [Porphyrius] intellegere dominum Christum esse principium, cuius incarnatione purgamur. . . . principium ergo suscepta anima et carne et animam credentium mundat et carnem. ideo quaerentibus Iudaeis quis esset respondit se esse principium.'

crederetur et intus quaereretur: For the sequence, see on 1.1.1; mag. 14.45, `tum illi qui discipuli vocantur, utrum vera dicta sint apud semetipsos considerant, interiorem scilicet illam veritatem pro viribus intuentes. tunc ergo discunt, et cum vera dicta esse intus invenerint, laudant nescientes non se doctores potius laudare quam doctos, si tamen et illi quod loquuntur sciunt.'

ubi . . . docet: cf. `intus' and `ibi' below.

solus magister: Mt. 23.8, `unus enim est magister vester', and cf. mag. passim, concluding at mag. 14.46, `admonui te ut iam non crederemus tantum, sed etiam intellegere inciperemus quam vere scriptum sit auctoritate divina, ne nobis quemquam magistrum dicamus in terris, quod unus omnium magister in caelis sit'; cf. mag. 12.40, `illum intus magistrum'.

dicentis: Regularly translated as if dicentem, which was what was printed by Amerbach in 1506.

quoniam: Vega and BA translate as if = `that', Ryan and Pusey translate as if `because, since.' After verbs of speaking, `that' is commoner (7.10.16, 7.12.18, 8.3.6, 9.2.4), but `because' is exampled (2.7.15, 7.9.14) and is preferable on context here.

admonemur: See on 7.10.16.

ubi ubi C D S Knöll Skut. Ver.:   ibi G O

cum stamus . . . vocem sponsi: Jn. 3.29 (quoting John the Baptist), `amicus autem sponsi qui stat et audit eum, gaudio gaudet propter vocem sponsi. hoc ergo gaudium meum impletum est.' This expression resembles the verse (Mt. 25.21, `intra in gaudium domini tui') that culminates Ostia (9.10.25): `a successful interpretation of scripture means nothing less than return to God' (Warns). s. 179.2.2-3.3, `ego qui vobis assidue loquor, iubente domino et fratre meo episcopo vestro [Carthaginis] et exigentibus vobis, tunc solidum gaudeo dum audio. gaudium, inquam, meum tunc solidum eset quando audio, non quando praedico. tunc enim securus delector. . . . noverat hoc gaudium etiam amicus ille sponsi qui dicebat “qui habet sponsam, sponsus est: amicus autem sponsi stat, et audit eum.” . . . non propter vocem suam, sed propter vocem sponsi. vocem tamen sponsi quam intus audiebat, foras populis non claudebat. (3) hanc partem sibi elegerat etiam illa Maria [Lk. 10] quae, ministrante et circa multum ministerium occupata sorore sua, sedebat ad pedes domini et otiosa verbum eius audiebat.'

gaudio gaudemus: 10.23.33, `beata quippe vita est gaudium de veritate'; 11.2.3, `ecce vox tua gaudium meum'.

nisi maneret: 11.6.8, `verbum autem dei mei supra me manet in aeternum' (from Is. 40.8); cf. 4.16.31. Cf. vera rel. 55.113, `unum deum . . . a quo discessimus, cui dissimiles facti sumus [!], a quo perire non permissi sumus, principium ad quod recurrimus'.

cognoscendo utique redimus: On redire, see on 1.18.28. That knowledge is redemptive is implicit and important in all of conf.; the nosse in the human soul is that faculty corresponding in the divine image to the second person of the trinity.

11.9.11

The first line recurs at the last line, transferring attention from Jn. 8.25 back to Gn. 1.1. For the strategy, cf. Amb. exam. 1.4.15, `in hoc ergo principio, id est in Christo fecit deus caelum et terram,' quoting both Jn. 8.25 and Jn. 1.3.

in virtute tua, in sapientia tua, in veritate tua: 1 Cor. 1.24, `Christum dei virtutem et dei sapientiam' (see on 1.1.1 and 11.8.10). The identification was one A. grasped eagerly in his most Platonic days: c. acad. 2.1.1, `oro autem ipsam summi dei virtutem atque sapientiam. quid est enim aliud, quem mysteria nobis tradunt dei filium?' beata v. 4.34 (offering the first scriptural allusions to appear in that work), `accepimus autem etiam auctoritate divina dei filium nihil esse aliud quam dei sapientiam, et est dei filius profecto deus. . . . sed quid putatis esse sapientiam nisi veritatem? etiam hoc enim dictum est, ego sum veritas.' lib. arb. 1.2.5, `quem filium dei unicum dicimus; quem cum planius enuntiare conamur, dei virtutem et dei sapientiam nominamus'.

quis enarrabit?: Similar questions are common in scripture, e.g., Job 38.37, Sirach 18.2, 43.35, Is. 53.8, Act. 8.33; cf. Jn. 1.18, `deum nemo vidit umquam; unigenitus deus, qui est in sinu patris, ipse enarravit.'

percutit: 10.6.8, `percussisti cor meum verbo tuo et amavi te.'

inhorresco: horror in the divine presence: 7.10.16, 9.4.9, 12.14.17.

dissimilis . . . similis: See on 7.10.16, `in regione dissimilitudinis'. trin. 9.11.16, `in quantum deum novimus, similes sumus'; at greater length, div. qu. 51.2, `multis enim modis dici res possunt similes deo: aliae secundum virtutem et sapientiam factae, quia in ipso est virtus et sapientia non facta [cf. `in sapientia tua, in virtute tua' above]; aliae in quantum solum vivunt, quia ille summe et primitus vivit; aliae in quantum sunt, quia ille summe et primitus est.'

deficientem: Ps. 30.11, `quoniam defecit in dolore vita mea et anni mei in gemitibus [cf. 11.29.39], infirmatus est in egestate vigor meus et ossa mea conturbata sunt'; en. Ps. 30. en. 1.11, `egeo sanitate huius corporis, nec parcitur cruciatibus; egeo resolutione corporis, et parcitur morti; et in hac egestate infirmata est fiducia mea'; en. Ps. 30. en. 2 s. 2.5, `quando autem videt homo ex dispensatione sua, ex laboribus suis, ex praedicatione sua, non proficere homines, infirmatur in egestate vita hominis.' On defectio, see also civ. 12.7, quoted on 2.6.12.

ab ea: sc. sapientia.

ut non sufferam: Cf. Ps. 64.8, `qui conturbas fundum maris, sonum fluctuum eius quis sufferet?'

qui propitius factus es: Ps. 102.3-5, `qui propitius fit omnibus iniquitatibus tuis, qui sanatur omnes languores tuos, (4) qui redimet de corruptione vitam tuam, qui coronat te in miseratione et misericordia, (5) qui satiat in bonis desiderium meum, renovabitur sicut aquilae iuventus tua.' The passage was a leit-motif of Bk. 10: see on 10.3.3; the last phrase is echoed only here.

aquilae: en. Ps. 102.9, `quaeris ergo quando satietur in bonis anima tua? quando renovata fuerit iuventus tua. et addidit, “sicut aquilae.” profecto hic aliquid latet; quod tamen dici de aquila solet non tacemus, quia non est ab re hoc intellegere. . . . dicitur aquila, cum senectute corporis pressa fuerit, immoderatione rostri crescentis cibum capere non posse. pars enim rostri eius superior, quae supra partem inferiorem aduncatur, cum prae senecta immoderatius creverit, longitudo eius incrementi non eam sinit os aperire, ut sit aliquod intervallum inter inferiorem partem et uncum superiorem. nisi enim aliquod intervallum pateat, non habet morsus quasi forcipem, unde velut tondeat quod transmittat in fauces. crescente itaque superiore parte et nimis aduncata, non poterit os aperire et aliquid capere. hoc ei facit vetustas. praegravatur languore senectutis, et inopia comedendi languescit nimis; utraque re et aetatis et egestatis accedente. itaque modo quodam naturali in mensura reparandae quasi iuventutis, aquila dicitur conlidere et percutere ad petram ipsum quasi labium suum superius, quo nimis crescente edendi aditus clauditur; atque ita conterendo illud ad petram excutit; et caret prioris rostri onere, quo cibus impediebatur. accedit ad cibum, et omnia reparantur: erit post senectutem tamquam iuvenis aquila; redit vigor omnium membrorum, nitor plumarum, gubernacula pennarum, volat excelsa sicut antea, fit in ea quaedam resurrectio. ad hoc enim exposita est ista similitudo. . . . non ad immortalitatem aquila reparatur, nos autem ad vitam aeternam; sed tamen propterea inde ducta est similitudo, ut quod nos impedit, petra nobis auferat. non ergo praesumas de viribus tuis; firmitas petrae tibi excutit vetustatem: “petra autem erat Christus.” in Christo renovabitur sicut aquilae iuventus nostra.' Sim. at en. Ps. 66.10. (The notion that eagles died of hunger in this way is old, attested by Arist. hist. anim. 9.32 and appearing in Pliny nat. hist. 10.4.15, but without the story of recovery.)

spe enim salvi facti sumus: Rom. 8.24-25, `spe enim salvi facti sumus; spes autem quae videtur non est spes; nam, quod videt quis, sperat? (25) si autem, quod non videmus, speramus, per patientiam exspectamus.'

quam magnificata . . . fecisti: Ps. 103.24, `quam magnificata sunt opera tua, domine! omnia in sapientia fecisti!' en. Ps. 103. s. 3.25, `quaero ubi fecerit, locum non invenio; sed video quid sequatur: “omnia in sapientia fecisti.” ergo omnia in Christo fecisti. ille contemptus, ille expalmatus, ille consputus, ille spinis coronatus, ille crucifixus, omnia in illo fecisti. audio, audio quid de illo tuo milite nunties hominibus; quid de illo praecone sancto praedices gentibus, Christum dei virtutem et dei sapientiam.'

This is the most revealing text so far on the role and function of the last three books in conf. The possibility of ascent, as sought and achieved from 1.1.1 to 10.27.38 is here just slightly downgraded: let he who can achieve high knowledge, achieve; but for the most part, humanity does not go so high. The acceptable substitute for hearing the word within is hearing its proclamation without: hence scripture, and hence the bishop's responsibility to meditate on God's law day and night.

et illa principium: Cf. perhaps Prov. 4.7, `principium sapientiae, posside sapientiam; et in omni possessione tua acquire prudentiam.'

11.10.12

vetustatis: Sign of the Pauline `old man': Rom. 6.6, Eph. 4.22, Col. 3.9. s. 267.2.2, `carnalitas vetustas est, gratia novitas est'; en. Ps. 139.14, `verba dei cor transfigentia et vetustatem perimentia amoremque gignentia.' See also on 1.4.4, `in vetustatem perducens' and 9.4.10, `mactans vetustatem meam'.

qui nobis dicunt . . .: For the doctrine at stake, see 7.15.21, `tu, qui solus aeternus es, non post innumerabilia spatia temporum coepisti operari'. For the Manichean origin of the challenge: Gn. c. man. 1.2.3, `primum ergo librum veteris testamenti qui inscribitur Genesis sic solent manichaei reprehendere. quod scriptum est, “in principio fecit deus caelum et terram,” quaerunt, in quo principio, et dicunt: “si in principio aliquo temporis fecit deus caelum et terram, quid agebat antequam faceret caelum et terram? et quid ei subito placuit facere, quod numquam antea fecerat per tempora aeterna?” his respondemus, deum in principio fecisse caelum et terram, non in principio temporis, sed in Christo, cum verbum esset apud patrem, per quod facta et in quo facta sunt omnia. dominus enim noster Iesus Christus, cum eum Iudaei interrogassent quis esset, respondit, “principium, quia et loquor vobis.” [Jn. 8.25] sed etsi in principio temporis deum fecisse caelum et terram credamus, debemus utique intellegere quod ante principium temporis non erat tempus. deus enim fecit et tempora: et ideo antequam faceret tempora, non erant tempora. non ergo possumus dicere fuisse aliquod tempus quando deus nondum aliquid fecerat.' (Sim. at Gn. litt. 1.1.2.) Meijering 40 traces the Epicurean, anti-Stoic roots of the argument; cf. esp. Cic., nat. deor. 1.9.21, `cur mundi aedificatores repente extiterint, innumerabilia saecula dormierint'; Lucretius 5.168-173:

quidve novi potuit tanto post ante quietos
inlicere ut cuperent vitam mutare priorem;
nam guadere novis rebus debere videtur
cui veteres obsunt; sed cui nil accidit aegri
tempore in anteacto, cum pulchre degeret aevum,
quid potuit novitatis amorem accendere tali?

Other echoes in A.: ord. 2.17.46, `in deo enim novum extitisse consilium, ne dicam impium, ineptissimum est dicere'; div. qu. 28, `qui quaerit quare voluerit deus mundum facere, causam quaerit voluntatis dei. sed omnis causa efficiens est. omne autem efficiens maius est quam quod efficitur. nihil autem maius est voluntate dei. non ergo eius causa quaerenda est'; much later at civ. 11.4, 12.13-15, 22.2, and c. adv. leg. 1.2.2.

The fullest and most recent study is E. Peters, Augustiana 34(1984), 53-74, devoted mainly to the pre-Augustinian history of the question; he gives fuller details to confirm Meijering's concentration on Platonic and post-Platonic philosophical disputation, reinvigorated by Manichean polemic. His main contribution is to show that (67) `the Epicurean cur ante non form of the question never in Epicurean polemic becomes the quid antequam form. The case for an Epicurean origin of the type of question is much more solid. Meijering does not note Irenaeus' or Origen's citation of the question. The origin of the quid antequam form in gnostic circles seems clear. The question then becomes why did Gnostics modify the Epicurean polemical question?' Peters goes on to suggest (67-72) that Midrashic speculations had already prepared a `pre-creation scenario' to which Gnostics reacted polemically; (69) `Both Gnostics and Manichaeans knew very well what the divinity and its enemies were doing before the creation.' (All this can be supplemented with difficulty from Sorabji, Time esp. 250ff, who does not specifically address this puzzle, except in an unenlightened aside [Sorabji, Time 83].)

One of A.'s contemporaries discusses the topic in a different vein from A.: Cassian conl. 8.7.1-2, `ante conditionem huius visibilis creaturae spiritales caelestesque virtutes deum fecisse . . . nemo fidelium dubitat. (2) nec enim existimare debemus creationis et opificii sui principia ab huius mundi constitutione deum primitus inchoasse, quasi in illis anterioribus atque innumeris saeculis ab omni providentia et dispensatione divina fuerit otiosus, ac tamquam non habens in quos bonitatis suae exerceret beneficia solitarius atque ab omni munificentia alienus fuisse credatur.' This undoubtedly comes from a line of eastern tradition in which the best strategy seemed to be not to deny the legitimacy of the question, but to offer a measured (and scripturally-based) reply.

The form of the question, echoing the cut and thrust of the viva voce debate, has interesting parallels; at div. qu. 44., for example, A. defends orthodoxy against the question `quare tanto post venit dominus Iesus Christus?' More pertinently, the Manichean taunt here matches closely in form and tone the question Nebridius put to the Manichees--`What if God had not wanted to fight?'--and used by A. again and again (see on 7.2.3).

cessavit ab opere: Gn. 2.3, `et benedixit diem septimum et sanctificavit eum, quia in ipso cessaverat ab omni opere suo, quod creavit deus ut faceret.' VL (Beuron) indicates that this is the only passage in A. where cessaverat is indicated, howbeit indirectly (here and 2x again at 11.13.15); everywhere else (the verse is not often cited, and mainly in Gn. litt.) he has the more familiar VL requievit (or simply quievit); more remarkable, this present passage seems to be the only VL evidence of any kind for cessare here; but cessaverat appears in Jerome's Vg. (LXX katepausen). The `cur dicitur' seems to suggest a scriptural text.

vera aeternitas: Assumes 11.7.9, `alioquin iam tempus et mutatio, et non vera aeternitas nec vera immortalitas' and cf. 1.4.4, `opera mutas nec mutas consilium'; for God's immutability, see on 7.1.1.

11.11.13

o sapientia dei: Cf. Eph. 3.10, `ut innotescat principibus et potestatibus in caelestibus per ecclesiam multiformis sapientia dei'; and 1 Cor. 1.24 (see on 11.9.11).

lux mentium: 12.18.27, `lux omnium veridicarum mentium', and cf. 7.6.8, `sapientia mentes indigentes inluminans'.

conantur: As verb of human reaching for the divine: see on 4.15.26.

cor eorum: Ps. 5.10-11, `in conspectu tuo dirige iter meum, quoniam non est in ore eorum veritas; cor eorum vanum est, (11) sepulcrum patens est guttur eorum'; en. Ps. 5.11, `quibus utique iudicantibus non est credendum, et ideo intro ad conscientiam et ad dei conspectum confugiendum est.'

quis tenebit illud [and see `et quis tenebit cor hominis' below]: Cf. 1.1.1, `inquietum est cor nostrum', and 7.17.23, `sed aciem figere non evalui'. This passage echoes generally the vocabulary of the ascent: cf. 7.17.23, `et non stabam frui deo meo, sed rapiebar ad te decore tuo'; 9.10.24, `pascis Israhel in aeternum veritate pabulo'; 10.41.66, `splendorem'. s. Den. 2.5, `sed quando tenemus volaticam cogitationem, et ad id quod manet affigimus? quando possumus? ergo misertus est deus . . . tamquam diceret Moysi: "quod dixi, `ego sum qui sum,' non capis; non stat cor tuum, non est immutabilis mecum, nec incommutabilis mens tua. . . . non potes capere nomen substantiae meae: cape nomen misericordiae meae."' en. Ps. 138.8, `illa ergo sapientia stans (si dici debet vel stans: dicitur autem propter incommutabilitatem, non propter immobilitatem) et eodem modo se semper habens, nullo loco, nullo tempore variata'. Sim. at Io. ev. tr. 38.10, ord. 2.2.6, en. Ps. 2.6, div. qu. 17., 19, civ. 11.6.

rapiat: See on 4.12.18, and cf. 9.10.25.

stantis: 11.8.10, `stabilis veritas'.

motibus: morulis coni. Verheijen, in order to read quae in the next line.

qui qui G S Maur. Knöll Skut.:   quae C D O Ver.

extendi: Cf. Phil. 3.13, `in ea quae ante sunt extentus' (9.10.23).

praesens: 9.10.23, `apud praesentem veritatem, quod tu es'.

nullum vero tempus totum esse praesens: For the vanishing `present', see excursus on memory at 10.8.12.

manus mea valet: For the expression only (from an entirely different context), cf. Gn. 31.29, `valet manus mea reddere tibi malum'.

manus oris mei: Not a citation, but a biblicism nonetheless: Knauer 151n1; cf. 5.1.1, `de manu linguae meae', 10.8.12, `abigo ea manu cordis'.

11.12.14

Peters, Augustiana 34(1984), 55, is right that this one wrong question stands by synecdoche for all others: at the outset of his meditatio in lege domini, A. exemplifies the boundary between quaerere (licit) and curiositas (illicit). Bk. 12 will explore licit forms of inquiry.

respondeo non illud: BA ad loc. conceives that A. shows respect by refusing to evade the question with a witticism, but cf. the same ironic praeteritio at civ. 7.1, `qua in re non dico quod facetius ait Tertullianus fortasse quam verius, “si dii eliguntur ut bulbi, utique ceteri reprobi iudicantur.”'

alta . . . scrutantibus gehenna parabat: As Peters, art. cit., 73, remarks, altus in A. is regularly (but not exclusively, cf. 6.7.12, 9.1.1) used as an attribute of God or to describe an improper object of human attention: c. Faust. 21.3, `occultum est, altum est, inaccessibili secreto ab humana cogitatione seclusum est, quemadmodum deus et damnet impium et iustificet impium.' Cf.