Volume 7, 2018
Christian Philosophy
George Heffernan
Pages 35-42
Augustine on Memory and Lethargy
A New Approach to Book X of the Confessions
It is generally accepted that in Book X of his Confessions Augustine formulates an argument for the role of memory in knowledge, especially of self and of God. Yet it is not widely acknowledged that this trenchant treatment of one of the mind’s major functions also represents a subtle investigation of the power of the human being to forget, that is, lethargy. In this paper I argue that a careful reading of Book X of the Confessions shows that Augustine attaches as much importance to lethargy and forgetting as to memory and remembering and that therefore any interpretation that does not take this fact into account is one-sided and thus inadequate. In fact, the detailed account of memory in Book X amounts to a lengthy prayer by Augustine to God to grant him the grace to forget the thoughts, actions, and habits that threaten to make his life after conversion lapse into his life before conversion: flesh, lust, and sex. In conclusion, I am suggesting that the holistic purpose of Book X of the Confessions is to emphasize both remembering and forgetting. Therefore, the standard interpretation, according to which it is about memory without further ado, has forgotten something.