This week’s readings included Books VIII-X, in which St. Augustine continues to tell the story of his conversion, his views on the importance of converting one’s opponents to Christianity, and the necessity of letting go of earthly temptations to find happiness and peace in God. What I would like to talk about in particular is Augustine’s views on sexuality, which he considers to be one of the “original sins,” so to speak, and one of the major temptations among those available to humankind. In Book VIII he recalls his life of hedonism and compares it to the lives of previous opponents of Christianity, such Victorinus. The reason why St. Augustine wants to withhold himself from sexual activity is that he sees it as an affirmation of his newfound faith, similar to how Victorinus publicly announced his Christianity, despite it being a very daring and complicated thing for him to do.
Books IX and X touch upon Augustine’s struggles with controlling himself, as he frequently describes the desire as an itch that needs to be scratched. The topic of temptation is talked about in the second half of Book VIII, where the reading of passages under the fig tree is symbolically connected to Adam and Eve, and the figs represent temptation. By the end of Book X, he admits that his strength of will is not enough to control the cravings of his flesh, and asks God for help to do so.
Augustine’s views on sexuality are particularly interesting because they have shaped the western perceptions of sex and reproduction for many centuries to come. He has a mostly negative opinion about it, accepting the only natural release for it to be for marriage and reproduction. His views have indirectly caused much grief throughout history, as they were the basis of laws that punished and even executed people for engaging in sex in ways different from those approved by the Church. Upon critical inspection of Augustine’s views in connection to other books already read through this course, I concluded that Augustine’s negativity came from his failings and his inability to control himself. Having come from the background of luxury and privilege, he was naturally exposed to a variety of earthly pleasures and was not taught moderation from a young age. Learning new habits of self-control and restraint is that much harder when one becomes older. Thus, Augustine experienced great grief and pain when trying to break his habits and associated his reactions with natural malice he attributed to pleasures.
Inspired by the likes of Victorinus, he wanted to perform a similar public act of faith through celibacy and was frustrated that his great sacrifice felt as painful as it was. At the core, I think, Augustine grew to view earthly pleasures as the Devil’s tools to tempt people or as tests from God, rather than God’s creations made for his children to live a happy and fulfilling life. Based on this analysis, I disagree with St. Augustine’s conclusions regarding sex and pleasure, but I understand the reasons why he came up with such thoughts, as his life and experiences shaped his viewpoints on practice as a whole.