LEFV - "Augustine"

AURELIUS AUGUSTINE

1) Logic (“Dogmatist”)
2) Emotion (“Actor”)
3) Physics (“Touchy Touch”)
4) Will (“Serf”)

In the memory of almost every person there is stored, usually associated with youth, an offense that is remembered more often than others, unusually vividly and with particular bitterness. As a rule, this offense is minor and the poignancy of memories of it is given by the fact that it is the first. It is like the Fall, like the loss of innocence, after which all other sins, sins and even crimes seem to be taken for granted, ordinary, and therefore the memory of them is shorter and vaguer. For example, for Jean-Jacques Rousseau, such a milestone was the theft of a ribbon, because of which the maid was refused home; for Leo Tolstoy, it was a gambling debt. Something similar happened at the age of sixteen to Blessed Augustine. He recalled with shame: “I wanted to commit theft, and I committed it, driven not by poverty or hunger, but by aversion to justice and from the gluttony of sin. I stole what I had in abundance and what was much better; I wanted to enjoy not what I was trying to steal, but the theft and sin itself.

Next to our vineyard stood a pear tree, weighed down with fruits that were not at all tempting in appearance or taste. Worthless boys, we went to shake it off and take our prey in the dead of midnight: according to the destructive custom, our street fun dragged on until this time. We took away a huge load from there not for food for ourselves (even if we ate something); and we were ready to throw it away even to the pigs, just to commit an act that was pleasant because it was forbidden."

Shaking off a pear is a completely innocent offense, and it acquired the appearance of a genuine crime in Augustine’s mind, obviously, because it was committed consciously. The child is sinless, shameless and beyond judgment, since he does not know what he is doing. Augustine, at the age of sixteen, already knew about the shamefulness of what he had done, and therefore it was with this that he began his repentance in the Confession.

Augustine’s attitude towards childhood was, to put it mildly, contradictory: a big child lived within him for life (4th Will), he loved children and corresponded with them until his death. However, the same Augustine in the book “On the City of God” wrote: “And who would not be horrified and would not prefer to die if he were offered the choice of either suffering death or experiencing childhood again?...with what supply of vain things?” desires that begin to open already in a child, a person appears in this life, so that if he were left to live as he would want to do everything he wanted, then he would either spend his whole life, or most of it, in crimes and atrocities."

On the one hand, it is difficult to disagree with Augustine: children are significantly superior to adults in greed and cruelty. Although their justification lies on the surface - growth and immaturity. On the other hand, Augustine had his own psychotypical reasons for not liking childhood: a painful feeling for “serfs” of abandonment and orphanhood - indispensable companions of the early period of life, when the 4th Will, deprived of external reins, lives like a restless soul. For a “serf”, such a state seems especially dangerous, because he sincerely believes in the absolute power of superior supervision, without which a person’s whole life should really turn into an endless chain of crimes.

But let's return to the chronology. Augustine, having gone through all the stages of ancient education in the 4th century, soon gained fame as a remarkable rhetorician and gained weight and influence at the imperial court. And his very position at court obligated him to include criticism of Christianity in his speeches, in a word to support the pagan party. Biographers, I think, are disingenuous when they explain the first pagan period of Augustine’s life with the “sad tradition” of blaming Christians for all troubles. His father was rather an agnostic, but his mother is a consistent and sincere Christian, so it is simply impossible to attribute Augustine’s initial complaisance to simple ignorance.

However, it is unlikely that Augustine puts much heat into his glorification of paganism. Even before arriving at the imperial court, he became acquainted with another persecuted religion in the state - Manichaeism, and over time he was completely drawn into its orbit. The essence of the Manichaean doctrine was that in the Universe from time immemorial there has been a struggle between Light and Darkness. This struggle permeates all manifestations of life, including humans. In our age, the king of Darkness, as always, attacks the kingdom of Light and so far wins victory over it. In addition to the simplicity, clarity and supposed evidence of this concept, Augustine apparently had purely personal reasons for becoming a consistent Manichaean. Since the time of the shaken pear, many sins have accumulated, and, in Augustine’s own words, remembering the predetermined victory of evil, he “was flattered to excuse himself and blame something else that was with me and at the same time was not me (4th Will)".

Augustine did not console himself for long with Manichaeism. However, having parted with the doctrine of Mani, he did not immediately turn to Christianity; He had previously gone through the purifying font of skepticism. Skepticism is the last refuge of a frustrated intellect. The special charm of skepticism lies in the fact that its font is filled not with water, but with the strongest acid. To look for and with secret joy to find a flaw in any thought, to deny all positive knowledge from the threshold, out of sheer opposition - there is in this an inexplicable pleasure of a mind tired of verbiage.

However, living in naked denial for a long time was not in the character of Augustine and his 1st Logic; his soul was hungry for truth, and he continued his search. From this moment the last final period of Augustine's life begins. This is not the place to list all the circumstances that influenced his last choice. The main thing is that at the age of thirty-three he was baptized, a few years later he was ordained a priest, and after the death of his mentor, Bishop Valery of Ipponia, he inherited his see.

It is at the episcopal see that Augustine seems to find himself. He is unusually active. Almost all the funds of the diocese go to help the poor, but if they are not enough, the bishop orders valuable church utensils to be broken and sold. The bishop preaches and writes abundantly and brilliantly; his legacy amounts to 16 volumes, and these volumes are organically included in the golden fund of world theological and philosophical thought.

A special place in the work of Blessed Augustine is occupied by the Confessions, the most popular, most often translated and most often published work. "Confession", on a reader free from thoughtless reverence, makes both a touching and painful impression. What touches you is her amazing poetry, powerful pathos, enthusiastic and childlike sincere faith. One is burdened by some kind of diligent flattening of oneself in the face of the Absolute, an infantile urge to shift everything that happens onto Him, down to the smallest detail: at least it’s strange to read that Augustine, by God’s will, could have had a toothache, and by God’s will, the pain could have gone away.

Augustine’s thirst for petty self-care is, of course, not accidental; it is a direct consequence of his 4th Will. As well as the very fact of turning to the genre of confession, which is internally so close to the childish sincerity of the “serf”. But let's return to the pear shaken by Augustine in childhood. Analyzing this episode of his biography, Augustine comes to the conclusion that he did something bad simply for the company, not of his own free will. He wrote: “...I wouldn’t have done this alone, I wouldn’t have done it alone. Here, Lord, before You I vividly remember my condition. I would not have committed this theft alone, in which I liked not what was stolen, but the theft itself; I wouldn’t like to steal alone, I wouldn’t steal. Oh, hostile friendship, elusive depravity of the mind, the desire to harm through laughter and fun! The desire for someone else's loss without the pursuit of one's own benefit, without any thirst for revenge, but simply because they say: let's go, let's do it ... "Shaking a pear is not a great sin, but the anxiety of such a thoughtful person as Augustine, on such a small matter, is quite justified.

The controllability, so clearly manifested in the story of the pear, is what inspired Augustine, looking into himself, with fear and painful thoughts. In this regard, one cannot help but say that after the 1st Physics, the most criminogenic part is the 4th Will. And it’s clear why. Augustine was lucky: apart from the pangs of conscience, there was no other retribution. I know many cases when “serfs” followed their more strong-willed comrades to commit more serious crimes, marched for their friends and sat down for their friends, with the same “Augustinian” childish serenity in their gaze.

“I saw, however, in the actions I committed against my will, a manifestation of a passive rather than an active principle, and considered them not guilt, but punishment,” Augustine wrote quite rightly, being, indeed, the suffering party and not responsible for his actions . The story of the search for the Puppeteer who manipulates him is the main theme in the history of the intellectual life of the Bishop of Hippo. Childhood friends, his mother, the Manichaean Prince of Darkness, the Christian God - they all consistently held on to the strings leading to his will, and Augustine extended this purely personal experience, as people are accustomed to judge by themselves, to the whole world, and elevated weak character to a cosmic principle.

The debate about free will was not started by Augustine, it was started by the monk Pelagius. He denied the original sinfulness of humanity and argued that man himself, without help from above, is capable of acquiring grace. Naturally, Augustine came out against Pelagius from completely opposite positions and won. At the Ecumenical Council in Ephesus, the teachings of Pelagius were anathematized. And it seems too hasty. The Augustinian concept of absolute unfree will, which became the official doctrine, briefly called “quietism,” when consistently implemented, led to indifference, deafness and irresponsibility.

Fortunately, the dispute between Pelagius and Augustine did not end with the anathema of the Council of Ephesus. And to this day, the question of where God’s will, fate, karma, external circumstances ends and personal expression of will, personal responsibility begins, a person is forced to decide for himself.

* * *

Parallel to the 4th Will, Augustine’s 3rd Physics lived its own life. And as usual for this function, sex was at the center of Augustine’s internal carnal struggle. All other sensual pleasures, gradually subdued, found themselves on the periphery of this battle. Augustine wrote: “...I was very pitiful as a youth, and especially pitiful on the threshold of youth; I even asked You for chastity and said: “Give me chastity and abstinence, just not now.” I was afraid that You would not immediately hear me and immediately heal me of evil passion; I preferred to quench it rather than extinguish it. "

Augustine's sanctimonious cry "Give me chastity, but not now!" - standardly conveys the state and attitude of the 3rd Physics to the sexual side of life.

For a long time, Augustine’s 4th Will could not do anything about the ambiguous lasciviousness of the 3rd Physics: “...my sins have multiplied. The one with whom I had lived for a long time was torn away from me as an obstacle to marriage. My heart, which was attached to it, was cut, and it bled. She returned to Africa, making a vow to You not to know another husband and leaving with me my illegitimate son, who lived with her. I, unfortunate one, was not able to imitate this woman: unable to bear the delay (the girl I was wooing, I could only get after two years), I, who did not strive for married life, but a slave of lust, got myself another woman, not as a wife, of course. The illness of my soul was maintained and continued, unabated, and even intensified by this indulgence in an old habit that drove me under the power of my wife...

What adorns marriage: an orderly family life and raising children - attracted... me very little. I was held in painful captivity, mainly by an irresistible habit of satiating insatiable lust...

I sighed about this, unchained by anyone, but in the shackles of my own will. The enemy held my will, he made a chain out of it for me and tied me up. Lust arises from evil will; you slave to lust - and it turns into a habit; you don't resist the habit - and it turns into necessity. It was in these mutually interlocking rings (which is why I speak of a chain) that cruel slavery kept me. And the new will, which was arising in me and wanted me to honor You for your sake and be comforted by You, Lord, the only true consolation, was still powerless to overcome the old one, strengthened and inveterate. And my two wills, one old, the other new; one carnal, the other spiritual, fought within me, and in this discord my soul was torn.”

The war with other carnal temptations occupied Augustine less and, following the example of the hermits, did not lead him to extremes. Here are some of Augustine’s statements on this subject: “Being in these temptations, I struggle daily with gluttony... The throat must be curbed, pulling and releasing the reins in moderation... The spell of smells does not bother me. They are not there, and I am not looking for them; they are there, I don’t drive them away; I agree to do without them forever."

Augustine’s relationship with hearing and vision was more complicated. They are conductors of emotional information, and for his 2nd Emotion, forced blockage of these channels is an almost unrealistic thing. Therefore, in the vacillation between the speculative demand for renunciation of sensual joys (1st Logic + 3rd Physics) and the urgent emotional-bodily need (2nd Emotion + 3rd Physics), the entire life of the Bishop of Ipponia passed in a colorful and sound experience. “The pleasures of hearing entangled and enslaved me more tightly... on songs animated by Your sayings, performed in a sweet and processed voice, I rest somewhat, without, however, freezing in place: I can get up whenever I want... Sometimes, it seems to me that I I give them more honor than they should: I feel that the holy words themselves ignite our souls with a more fervent piety if they are well sung; bad singing does not have such an effect...

What remains is the pleasure received from these carnal eyes of mine... The eyes love beautiful, varied shapes, bright and pleasant colors. May they not take possession of my soul... They disturb me all day long while I am awake, and I have no peace from them, such as there is from ringing voices, and even from my favorite sounds in the ensuing silence. And the king of colors himself, this sunlight that floods everything we see, wherever I am during the day, sneaks up on me in every possible way and caresses me, although I am busy with something else and do not pay attention to it. And he is so dear that if he suddenly disappears, then you look for him with longing, and if he is gone for a long time, then the soul becomes darkened." Isn't it amazing sensuality for a Christian saint? And on the other hand, it is heightened sensuality that is the trademark of Christianity.

* * *

Having not gained any special laurels in the field of practical struggle against carnal joys, Augustine more than compensated for this deficiency with a speculative battle with empiricism and sensationalism, i.e. with theories of knowledge that proceed from the absolute reliability of experimental knowledge and recognize as true only those phenomena that are accessible to the bodily senses.

In itself, criticism of empiricism and sensationalism was not news in the time of Augustine; the skeptical school danced heartily on these two concepts. In the case of Augustine, the only news was that it was not a skeptic, but a dogmatist who took up this kind of criticism. Although if we recall the fundamental opposition between the First and Third functions in the psychotype, in this case the 1st Logic and the 3rd Physics, nothing strange is found in Augustine’s inclination to criticize empiricism. He wrote: “Besides carnal lust, which demands pleasures and pleasures for all external senses and destroys its servants, removing them from You, these same external feelings inspire the soul with a desire not to enjoy in the flesh, but to explore with the help of the flesh: this is empty and greedy curiosity dressed in the clothes of knowledge and science. It consists in the desire to know, and since, among the external senses, sight provides us with the most material for knowledge, this lust is called in Scripture “the lust of the eyes”...

...in all bodily visions, evidence is required both of the other senses and especially of the mind, i.e. reason in order to find, as far as possible, what is true in this kind of objects. In spiritual vision, i.e. in the bodily likenesses that are contemplated by the spirit, the soul is deceived when it thinks that the images it contemplates are the bodies themselves, or what it imagines by assumption and false guess...

He who interprets the vision of another is more of a prophet than he who sees the vision himself. From this it is clear that prophecy belongs more to the mind than to the spirit in the proper sense."

The natural conclusion for Augustine’s 1st Logic follows from this: “Reasonable vision does not err,” although his own life gave many examples of the deepest errors of the mind.

* * *

“Augustine” himself is thin, not to say sexy, sweet, timid, thoughtful person without any serious pretensions in his personal and public life. He is extremely sexy, but his sexuality is devoid of pressure and energy, which sometimes leads “Augustine” into the camp of masochists. He doesn't show much hope and, if he has any, he rarely lives up to it. In any case, besides Augustine himself, the only representative of the same type that comes to mind is Darwin. Moreover, Darwin’s success was a pleasant surprise both for those around him and for himself. Without being at all flirtatious, Darwin wrote: “It is truly amazing that a man of such modest abilities as myself could, in a number of significant matters, exert a significant influence on the views of men of science.”

The most noticeable features of Augustine's nature are his talent for communication and his rare love of children. Since his speech functions are at the top (1st Logic + 2nd Emotion), communication with “Augustine”, saturated with thoughts and images, brings true pleasure. Love of children of this type also falls under two headings: the 3rd Physics loves making children and taking care of them, the 4th Will finds in children's society ideal partners for the infantile “Augustinian” psyche.