THEOLOGY 4

LESSON 2: St. Augustine on Love

AUGUSTINIAN SPIRITUALITY

Background

I. Love as Eros in Classical Mythology:

a. Homer: eros means love or desire
b. Hesiod: along with Chaos and Gaia, Eros is a primordial element

II. Love according to ancient philosophers:

a. Empedocles: Love is a universal force that binds together the primordial elements
b. Plato: the soul’s longing for the eternal, the human aspiration to immortality and the
likeness of the Divine
c. Aristotle: Love as philia, “good”, closely connected to virtue, necessary for life and for
the attainment of happiness

III. Judaeo-Christian tradition

a. Love is a relationship with the Divine
b. Love becomes a commandment and a sacrament

IV. Old Testament

Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am
commanding you today in your heart. (Deu 6:4-6 NRSV)

V. New Testament

Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" [Jesus] said to him, "'You shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the
greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.' (Mat 22:36-39 NRSV)

Christian conception of love (also called agape in the New Testament): filial love for God,
brotherly love for our neighbors and love for ourselves.

Augustine’s Teachings About LOVE (rooted in the Bible)

Sources:
1. Confessions

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2. Soliloquies
3. Exegesis of Biblical Texts

1. Love is a craving (appetitus) – a motion towards something Our craving is determined by

what we think is the good that will give us happiness! appetitus habendi (desire to have)

2. The object that we love could either lead towards God or to Evil.

Two types of love: good love and evil love; both can exist in a person

3. Two types of Love:

a. cupiditas – worldly love; clings to the world; root of all evil
b. caritas – right love which seeks for eternity; root of all good

4. The RIGHT love consists in the right object!

a. To avoid evil, one must choose to love God!
b. The pleasures of the flesh, glory, and power are empty desires that lead to suffering.

“Too late I loved You, O Beauty so ancient, yet ever new! Too late have I loved You! […] You
were within me, but I was not with You. Things held me far from You, which, unless they were
in You, were not at all. You called and shouted, and shattered my deafness. You flashed, shone,
and scattered my blindness. You breathed odours, and I drew in breath and panted for You.
You touched me, and I burned for Your peace”. (Confessions Book X.38)

[When there is] “anything material that you love, it is difficult for you not to be jealous
of someone who has it.” (St. Augustine, In Praise of Peace)

5. We are transformed by what we love.

“What else is love except a kind of life that binds or seeks to bind together some two
things, namely, the lover and the beloved.” – St. Augustine

“Love, but be careful what you love.”– St. Augustine

6. The right kind of self-love does not love the present self that is going to die, but that which
will make one live forever (the eternal self).

7. To pass from the fleeting to the eternal, one must heed the commandment of Jesus: love
one’s neighbor!

Friendship rooted in the Christian faith, the highest manifestation of love for neighbor

8. What else ought we love if we love God, the Supreme Good?

a. Peace (love for enemies)

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 b. Justice
c. Hospitality
d. A good a blissful life

9. How should we love?

a. uninterestedly, i.e., love without expecting praises or material gifts in return
b. One cannot possess that which one does not love!
c. “I love Thee alone, thee alone follow, thee alone seek, thee alone am I ready to
serve.” (Confessions, Book I, 1.5)

Conclusion
a. “Love and do what you will.” – St. Augustine
b. The reason behind our deeds must always be LOVE!

Food for thought

“Love must prevail over any scientific preoccupation.” Teodora Prelipcean

Synthesis:
When we talk about St. Augustine, we always remember his powerful phrases about love and
his conversion: “Too late I loved You, O Beauty so ancient, yet ever new! Too late have I loved
You!” We are amazed how this sinner turned to saint – but that is not impossible because God
is a merciful God and His love is unconditional. Though St. Augustine has a lot of definitions
about love, it always leads us to the Ultimate destination of our life, and that is God. Yes, we
are transformed by what we love. But as he said, we must be careful of what we are loving.
Only the love of God can transform us and will lead us to the Beloved who promises us
everlasting life. It is also important that we always practice the Christian faith because it
manifests our love not for ourselves but for our neighbor.

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