THE CONFESSIONS

BOOK 10- MEMORY

(Chapters 1-22)
Reporter:
CATHERINE E. LARA
MAN STUDENT
 Introduction
From autobiography to self-analysis. Augustine turns from
his memories of the past to the inner mysteries of memory
itself. In doing so, he reviews his motives for these written
"confessions," and seeks to chart the path by which men
come to God. But this brings him into the intricate analysis
of memory and its relation to the self and its powers. This
done, he explores the meaning and mode of true prayer. In
conclusion, he undertakes a detailed analysis of appetite
and the temptations to which the flesh and the soul are
heirs, and comes finally to see how necessary and right it
was for the Mediator between God and man to have been
the God-Man.
CHAPTER SUMMARY AND REFLECTION
CHAPTERS 1 and 2
Opening Prayer
In God Alone is the Hope and Joy of Man.
That All Things are Manifest to God. That Confession Unto
Him is Not Made by the Words of the Flesh, But of the Soul,
and the Cry of Reflection.
CHAPTER SUMMARY AND REFLECTION
CHAPTER 3-5
Thoughts on how his confessions can edify his readers
He Who Confesses Rightly Unto God Best Knows Himself.
That in His Confessions He May Do Good, He Considers
Others.
That Man Knows Not Himself Wholly.
CHAPTER SUMMARY AND REFLECTION
CHAPTERS 6 & 7
The meditation on memory in which Augustine declares that God is
the object of love for every person
Explore how God can be found in our memory, declaring that all
creation points to God, who is the object of human longing. Memory
as an extension of this theme of the God-seeking self.
The Love of God, in His Nature Superior to All Creatures, is Acquired
by the Knowledge of the Senses and the Exercise of Reason.
That God is to Be Found Neither from the Powers of the Body Nor of
the Soul.
CHAPTER SUMMARY AND REFLECTION
CHAPTERS 8 - 19
A prolonged meditation on the nature of memory and how to
find God in one’s memory
Although we don't recognize them as memories when we
recognize the truth of ideas, the pieces of these ideas are
present somewhere far back in our memories.
How can we be mindful of God if he is not already in our
memories?
CHAPTER SUMMARY AND REFLECTION
CHAPTERS 20 - 22
 Meditations on the human quest to find the happy life
We Should Not Seek for God and the Happy Life Unless We
Had Known It.
How a Happy Life May Be Retained in the Memory.
A Happy Life is to Rejoice in God, and for God.
Life with the knowledge of God
References
https://
www.newadvent.org/fathers/110110.htm?fbclid=IwAR10V8cAQTcInE7iXalvvsaZVJt1DywJ85rCm
RAtJIlo0cADwCWIEqd-BUY
https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Confessions/book-10-sections-1-12-summary/
https://www.wheaton.edu/media/christ-at-the-core/Ryken-Confessions-Guide-Crossway.pdf
https://www.gradesaver.com/confessions/study-guide/summary-book-x-memory
https://
www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/s/st-augustines-confessions/summary-and-analysis/book-10-cha
pters-125