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3 - Order and freedom

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2011

Brian Stock
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Summary

Da quod iubes et iube quod uis.

Conf., 10.37.60

INTRODUCTION

In Augustine's writings ascetic, mental, or spiritual disciplines, such as the soliloquy, are constrained by predetermined forces, whose ultimate source is divine. Two of these forces are discussed in detail in his early writings, namely natural and historical laws. In this chapter Augustine's treatment of these subjects is taken up in a pair of works from the first years of his literary activity: De Ordine, composed in 386–387, and De Libero Arbitrio, begun in 387–388 and completed by 395.

These works confirm the direction for Augustine's soliloquies which has been suggested in Chapter 2. In the course of this discussion I attempted to show that there are two trajectories in his thinking on the topic of such spiritual exercises. First, he frames his discussion of the cogito within a narrative design which includes his personal life history as well as the history of civilization. Secondly, as he proceeds, Platonic, Neoplatonic, and Stoic approaches to the problem of personal improvement, which stress the autonomy of the self, are replaced by a dependent notion of the self based on biblical teachings, in particular those of Paul.

This transition from an autonomous to a dependent notion of the self is well illustrated by a reading of De Ordine and De Libero Arbitrio. In De Ordine, Augustine is largely psychological and philosophical in his thinking about the self.

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Augustine's Inner Dialogue
The Philosophical Soliloquy in Late Antiquity
, pp. 121 - 180
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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  • Order and freedom
  • Brian Stock, University of Toronto
  • Book: Augustine's Inner Dialogue
  • Online publication: 10 January 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511760877.006
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  • Order and freedom
  • Brian Stock, University of Toronto
  • Book: Augustine's Inner Dialogue
  • Online publication: 10 January 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511760877.006
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Order and freedom
  • Brian Stock, University of Toronto
  • Book: Augustine's Inner Dialogue
  • Online publication: 10 January 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511760877.006
Available formats
×