Augustine and the Acaden1ics

,..

In the many accounts of the con ve rsio n of Augustine to Christianity

as set forth in the Confessions most commentators have noted wi,th
considerable detail the various stages in the intellectual, moral, and
religious clevelopment of Augustine which led to his ultimate embrace
o Christianity. The pattern e:s:emplified by these stages begins with
the reading of the Hortensius, the conversion to Manchesm, the reject ion of lHanicheism, the adherence to the philosophy of the Academ.ics1 ,
the acceptance of sorne form of Neo-Platonism, ancl culrninates in the
conversion to Christianity in the famous garden scene in the year 386.
Other writers, notably Harnack2 and Thimme 3 , have questioned the
sincerity of the Confessions and the converson to Christianity, maintaining that Augustine was prirna ri1y a philosopher in the period at
Cassiciacum while awaiting his baptism and that his real conversion to
Christianity did not come untillater. A more significant and influential
variant on this account of Augustine's spiritual clevelopment is the thesis
put forth with considerable skill by Alfaric who maintained :

t- - - -()

<

( ")

Z
;;.:

UJ

( / ";

C;
<r
O

---

I.

~~

()

IVhen he (Augustine) was baptized, he attached such little importance

i
to trus rite that in ruS writings of that time, where he speaks often
of himself and of all that interests him, he never makes the faintest (J
li-J
allusion to it. jVIoraUy as well as intellectually he was converted to -,
Neo-Platonism mther than the Gospel... If he had died after he had . --'
written the Soliloquies, we would not have regarded him as anything . o n "": "',
hut a convinced Neo-Platonist, with a tincture, more or less, of Chris- .t .--U - _ _ ~
tianity. ",
..

~;;

A1though Alfaric's thesis is better clocumented and more ab!y argued

than similar views which preceded his, the refutation ancl rejection of
Alfaric's thesis has been sufficient attestecl by such scholars as Boyer,

I. By the Acadelllics (or Acaderuicians) will h e llleallt tlle lllelllbers of the New
Academy a nd lllore p articularly Arcesilas and Carneades.
'2. S ee h is A"gustins Conjessionen (2nd ed. Giessen I895) I7 .
3. 'V . THDIME, Augu.sttns get'ige E-ntwichlu#g ' den ersten Jahreu. nach Se"in8r
Bekehrung (3S 6-39I ) (Berlin I908) I I.
+ As statec1 by John J. Q':MEARA, TIt.e }'ou.ng Altgu.stine, Loudan, Longlualls,
I95-1, p. I32 .

68

JOH N

A. MOURA N T

Gilson, Marrou, Pellegrino, O'Meara, et. al. We shall accept their verdict
as sound and limit our study to the thesis that in Augustine's conversion
the persistence of his Manicheism is greater than has been allowed and
that there was no real or substantial acceptance by him of the Academic
phi1osophy. His Neo-Platonisl1l is significant but may be regarded more
as an instrument for the understanding of faith than as an object of his
converson. This last point, however, will not be considered withn
the limitations set in the present study.
Our procedure will be to examine and evaluate the relevant passages
from the Confessions and the prulosophical dialogues of Cassiciacul1l,
more notably of course, the Contra Academicos.
Augustine's first explicitly noted contad with the Academics apparently occurred during rus twenty ninth year. In all probability he read about
them earlier in Ccero, for at theage of 19 he had read and was greatly
mpressed with the Hortensius of Ccero.
However that may be, the
Acadernics are mentoned for the first time in the Confessions Book V. 10 .
19 where Augustine describes the disi1lusonment he experienced with
the Manicheans following his fruitless conversation with Faustus S Augustine remarks :
Etenim suborta est etiam mihi cogitatio, prudentiores illos ceteris
fuisse phi1osophos, quos Academicos appellant, quod de omnibus
dubitandum esse censuerant nec aliquid ueri ab homine conprehendi
posse decreuerant. ita enim et mihi liquido sensisse uidebantur, ut
uulgo habentur, etiam illorum intentionem nondum intellegenti.
Can one say more of this statement than that Augustine's limited
knowledge of the Academics may have influenced his decision to rejed
the Manicheans ? Considering the final remark in rus statement that
" etiam illorum intentionem nondum intellegent ", t would be diffcult
to nfer much more than that he had become nterested in the Academics,
but certanly not that he had embraced ther cause. The indecisiveness
of Augustine relative to the Academics is evident again at the close of
Book V. 14. 25 of the Confessions when he declares:
itaque Academicorum more, sicut existimantur, dubitans de omnibus
atque inter omnia fluctuans manichaeos quidem relinquendos esse
decreui, non arbitrans eo ipso tempore dubitationis meae in illa secta
mihi pe=anendum esse, cui iam nonnullos philosophos praeponebam :
quibus tamen phi1osophis, quod sine salutari nomine Christi essent,
curationem languoris animae meae conmittere omnino recusabam'.
5. The staternent in the Confessious " multa philosophorullllegeram lllemoriaeque
mandata retinebam .. (V . 3. 3) refers to the matheniat-ici according to R . P. A. Solignac,
S. J. See his note in the CEuvres de sai nt A >tgust-in. Les Conjess ions. Vol. "3.,
Col!. B i bl-iotheq>te A g" stin-ienne. Paris, D esde De Brou",er, "962, p. 82 (This
collection will be abbreviated hereafter as B.A.)
6. B.A., "3, p. 498.
7. Ibid., pp. 5II-j12.

AUGUSTINE AND THE ACADEMICS

69

This passage deserves so me comment. First, the phrase " that time
of my doubt " may be taken to mean his increasing doubts of the Marucheans and all that they believed, rather than a position of phi1osophical
doubt like that o the Academics 8 Second, it may be observed that
Augustine says quite explicitly that he ' refused a!together to commit
the cure of (his) sickly soul to those philosophers who were without the
health-giving name of Christ 9 ". Taking this statement in conjunction
with the concluding sentence of this chapter in which he declares his
resolution to be a catechumen in the Catholic Church would seem to
indicate at least a nominal tie with Christianity rather thal1 any conversion or adherence to the cause of the Academics10
"Ve would contend that at this stage in his development Augustine
is still fundamentalIy a religious rather than a philosophical thinker.
True, he had been strong!y influenced severa! years earlier by the reading
of Cicero's Hortensius but the extent of this influence is difficult to determine. We believe that the more reasonable conjecture is that this
early philosophical interest was soon replaced by the strength of his
Manichean couversiou and was not effectively revived again until his
reading of the "" libri Platoniconmt" Finally, the strength of this
rejection of the Academics shou!d be noted in the phrase " conmittere
omnino recusabam "11
In the Confessions VI. I. 1 Augustine notes that his mother found
him in despair of discovering the truth and that he informed his mother
that although he was no longer a Manichean he was not yet a Catholic
Christian12 . There is no indication here that he had embraced any
particular philosophica! position. That he had despaired of finding
the truth does not imply that he had accepted the Academic phi!osophy.
The mood of a sceptic is usually not one of despair. Furthermore,
Augustine's comment that although his conversion had not yet been
accomplished, it had already come about to such an extent that he was
freed from error ven though he had not yet attained the truth13 , would
hardly have been made if he had embraced the cause of the Academics.
For the Academics in his eyes were equally in error. The reference to
truth in his comment is a reerence to Christian truth. The whole statement represents a definite stage in the progress of Augustine's conversion to Christianity. The mood of despair is struck again in the closiug
sentence of the Confessions VI. 2.2 but the reference in the statement
" qui dubitabam de illis omnibus et inueniri posse uiam uitae minime

S. bid .. p. 512.
9. bid.
10. Statui ergo tauldiu esse ocatechUluenus in catholica ecc1esia lnihi a parentihns
cOll111endata, donec aliquid certi eluceret, quo cursum c1irigerem (lbid.) .
1 r. Ibid.
12 . bid., p. 516,
13. bid.

JOHN A. MO U RA N T

70

putabam " 14 again is not an expression of philosophicaI or intellectuaI

doubt but refers rather c1ear1y to the religious praetises of Moniea and
to the difficulty Augustine experienced in accepting Christianity as a
way of life even though sorne of his intellectual doubts eoneerning it hac1
been removed. Finally, if Augustine was in " doubt about all things ",
this wouId entail a doubt of the Academic position as weI!.
Later in the Confessions VI. II. rB Augustine refers again to this period
in his life in a resume of his intellectual development. He cites the
Academics quite explicitIy : " O magni uiri Academici ! nihil ad agendam
uitam certi conprehendi potest "15. The irony o the attack is followed
by his conviction that we must not despair but rather seek [the truth]
more persistently16. The statement and the context in which it is expressed reflects Augustine's difficulty in accepting Christianity as a way
of life, rather than the acceptance of a principIe of doubt.
The evidence to the close of Book VI of the Confessions shows no real
acceptance by Augustine of the Academic philosophy. Instead there
is a greater indication that sorne of his intellectual and religious doubts
of Christianity had been removed and that he had gradually come to
accept certain Christian truths. What deserves emphasis at this point
is that the intellectual, moral; and religious development of Augustine
cannot be reduced to any simple logical order or pattern. To maintain
that at the age of twenty nine he abandoned Manicheism, that for the
next three years he was a follower of the Academics, and that this stage
in turn was succeeded by the acceptance of Neo-Platonism and his conversion to Christiauity in his thirty second year is far too simple an expla- '
nation of a complex mind and personality.
For one thing such an explanation does not give adequate recognition
to the persisten ce of Augustine's Manichean belief and the very strong
hold that this sect exercised upon him. Although Augustine does state
that he rejected the Manicheans in his twenty ninth year; it is necessary
to remember that this was not a sudden break nor a completedisassociation. The ties with Manicheism were undoubtedly being weakened
before the initiaI break. What Augustine gave up in Manicheism when
he first broke away frem it was a conviction of its truth and the adequacy
of its doctrine
a way of life. What he did not yield so readily were
his associations with the Manicheans and his contillued acceptance of
some of their doctrines, e. g. the material nature of God and the human
sou!.
Furthermore, it is important to recognize the complexity of a religious
conversion. The factors involved generally lie deep beneath the surface.
Psychologically the conversion process is one that extends over some

as

I4. bid., p . 5'20.

r 5. bid., p. 556.
16. (1 il111nO quaerrllnns c1i1igentius et non rlesperelllus.

(Loc. cit .)

AUGUSTINE AND THE ACADENIICS

7I

period of time. Although the final act of the conversion process may
appear climacticalIy, it is only the end result of a protracted process of
religious development. Also it is necessary to emphasize that in the
religious conversion the wholebeing of the individual is caught np in a
manner that is not found as a rule in the changes that may develop in
our philosophical or other convictions. In the case of Augustine, we
would argue, the transition psychologicalIy and religiously was effected
primari1y from lVIanicheism to Christianity. Philosophy played only
a secondary and subordinate role in his conversion. Initially with the
Academics what philosophy supplied was a means of escaping from Manicheism. Neo-Platonism contributed the more positive function offering
precisely that intellectual explanation that would make Christianity
more intelligible. The real conversion embodying the whole person of
Augustine was from one religious sect to another. The key to that
conversion was the grace of God, not the Academy Old or New.
Hence, it is necessary to consider in more detail the actual causes at
work leading Augustine away from Manicheism as well as toward Christianity. The arguments of the Academics certainly may have played an
important role, but there were other factors presento Testard notes the
importance of the role of Cicero and observes that a knowledge of Cicero
would have given Augustine a picture of the physical world as aesthetic,
orderly, rational and religious, such as Cicero presented in the De N at~tra
Deont1n17 This is quite possible but in the absence of any evidence that
AugUlitine had ever read this work it must remain uncertain. Also,
the notion of the rational and orderIy nature of the universe was to be
found in other philosophers , notably the Stoics with whom Augustine
was acquainted .

* **
To obtain a more aclequate picture of Augustine's conversion from
JliIanicheism and also of the influence of the Academics upon him, it is
necessary to consider more fully at this stage of our inquiry the basic
attractions that lVIanicheism had for Augustine, the motivations that
led him to an acceptance of Manicheism1 S The conversion to Manicheism
like the conversion to Christianity was gradual rather than sudden. Augustine seems to have been attracted first to the method, then to the
philosophy, and finally to the religion and mythology of the Manicheans19 .
For onr purposes we mal' indicate the following basic motivations that
led Augustine to accept their doctrine.
17. TESl'ARD 1\:I. Sa..inl AugHM'n et Cic-ron, (Paris : tudes Augustiniennes, 1938 .)
IS . 'Ve luay speo.k of a conyerSiOll te :i\:Ianicheislll e "en thongh i t in 110 wo.y
reseulbled in fervor, illtensity, alld influence that conversiol1 to Christianity. It
should also be noted that _<\.ugustine ne,er became olle of the elect of the J\1anichealls
hut as an auditor was always more or less UpOI1 the periphery of this sect.
I<). An extensi,~e account of Augnstine's i\1anicheisDl is to be found in ALFARIC.
P. L' i:t'olution intellectu,elle de sa.int Auguslin (1)aris
1<)1 8).
F or a Stllnnlury
nccount see the ar ticle by Dr. Alltoll Pr-;r.rs, TJ f Al i"d o/ SI. Auguslinc. in Afedin'al

S'udirs , 6 ( r04-\).

I~

PP , _ ~,

, "1

72

JOHN

A, MOURANT

First there was the ec1ecticisro in the doctrines o the Manicheans,

They professed to accept only what was best froro the various religious
sects and philosophies, Also, for one who was still professedly a Catholic,
there was a certain attraction in their c1aim that they iollowed Christ
and accepted the teachings of the New Testament even though they
contended that theteachings oi Christ were falsified by his clisciples, The
rejection oi the Old Testament by the Manicheans as the work oi the
devil probably satisfied some of the misgivings Augustine had of the
Old Testament.
Furthermore, the c1aim oi the Manicheans that they had a knowledge
of all the sciences and could answer any and ail questions regarcling man
and the universe must have made a strong appea! to the youthful inquirer
recently caught up with the enthusiasm of the H ortensius and the desire
to learn the truth. For Augustine, the materialism and dualism
of the Manicheans must have seemed far more comprehensible than some
of the mysteries and abstractions of Christian truth. And undoubted1y
their proselytizing fervor and the austerity of their ethics were equally
impressive. Above all other considerations was the strength of their
rationalistic appeal, the c1aim that in their teachings they relied upon
reason and scientific demonstration rather than upon faith ancl authority.
In the De utilitate credendi Augustine specifically informs us that the
Manicheans appeal to reason rather than authority and that they
c1aimed that Christianity was a superstition and based its appea! solely
on faith ancl not on reason20 . Yet Augustine clid not wholly embrace
their doctrine and remained in the rank of the auditors for no other reason
than " quod ipsos quoque animadvertebam plus in refellendis aliis disertos et copiosos esse, quam in slls probandis firmos et certos manere ,,21,
Holte observes that Augustine's acceptance of Manicheism was a
reaction to the ear1y view he held of Christianity as a superstition and
not the forro of Christian gnosticism which he had been seeking22 . Courcelle notes that the fundamental motive for Augustine's acceptance oi
Manicheism was its rationalistic attraction which he did not find as a
youth. More particularly he observes:
TI a longuement cout les Manichens se gausser des erreurs des
ignorants, et s'est convaincu par la. de leur supriorit, non seulement
sur le problme des gnalogies de Jsus, mais sur quantit d'autres
qu'ils lu proposaient."
At this point we would like to conjecture that any real sceptical periad
in Augustine's intellectual developroent would have occurred during
20. B. A" S, p. 2ro.
21. bid., p, 2ro.
22. HOLTE Ragnar, B atit-ude et Sagesse, (Paris: tuc1es Augustilliennes, 196z).
p, r SS .
23 COURCEI,I,E Pierre, R eche1'c,,"s SU,r les Con(essions de saint A 'I,t gtostin, (Paris :
De Boceard, r950), p. 65 .

AUGUSTINE AND THE ACADEMICS

73

the early years at Carthage. This was the period when he may have
looked upon Christianity as a superstition and at least its influence upon
him appears to have declined. The later alleged scepticism of Augustine
might be regarded more as the strategy of the rhetorician turning the
tables of doubt upon the lVIanicheans and using their own tactics to refute
them. Just as earlier Augustine had been persuaded' of Manicheism by
their rhetorical ability to refute the beliefs of others and more notably
Christian beliefs.
Next, we shoulcl like to point out that in the very period in which
Augustine was supposed to have been caught up in the doubts of the
Academics certain doubts which he felt about Christianity were removed.
Sorne of these doubts were removed as he heard Ambrose preach,, " et
magis magisque mihi confirmabatur omnes uersutarum calumniarum
nodos, quos illi deceptores [Manicheans] nostri aduersus diuinos libros
innectebant, posse dissolui "24. He confesses his embarrassment at
having misunderstood the meaning of the statement " for men to be made
by Thee to Thy Image " and to have thought of it in materialistic terms 25 .
It may be argued that the failure of philosophy to have taken a strong
hold upon him is revealed in the easy and unquestioned acceptance of
the Manichean accusations against Christianity, of their false interpretations of Christian doctrines. Consequent upon the preaching of Ambrose
there is initiated a gradual intellectual conversion to Christianity :
itaque confundebar et conuertebar et gauclebam, deus meus,
quod ecclesia unica, corpus unid tui, in qua mihi nomen Christi
infanti est inditum, non saperet infantiles nugas neque hoc haberet in doctrina sua sana, quod te creatorem onullum in spatium loci
quanluis summum et amplum, tamen undique tenninatum membrorunl lU111lanon111l figura contruderet. '"
It was through Ambrose that he learned to interpret correctly the
Old Testament and to follow the rule that " litteraocciclit, spiritus autem
uiuificat "27 He no longer founcl anything offensive in Christian doctrine
when it was interpretecl in a spiritual sense even though he did not comprehend its meaning.

Boyer's Comment on Confessions VI, 4. 5-6, that :

Les argcmlents des acadmiciens, enfls par l'loquence de Cicron,
l' enveloppent et le paraiysent, a la fa90n des narcotiques qui, sans
supprinler toute activit, rendent incapables de dcision. A quelle
certitude est-il parvenu sinon a celle de l'illusion de ses anciennes certi-

24 . n. A., p. 514 .
25. bid.
26. lbid., p . 526.
27. lbid., p. 528.

.lOHN A. NIOURA N T

74
tudes ? _-\.clhrer

a une

l1.ouyelle doctrille ne serait-ce pas de nouveau

etre clupe ? _-iussi se retient-il, connne au bord d'un prcipice, pour ne

pas danner s on acUlsion a ux ense ignernents de s aint

iunbroise~ &

is inaccurate or at best an exaggeration. In the context of this chapter

of the Confessions as well as in the previous chapter the reference to the
image of God and his own deception is clearly to the lVlanicheans. He
doubts the Manicheans because he wanted to believe in Christ, not because
he believed in the Academics. And he is still a Manichean and not an
Academic.
Furthermore, the appeal of rationalism reasserts itself ; the old Manichean claim to teach certitude seems to have Ieft its mark, for Augustine
declares that he wanted to be as certain of the tmths of Scripture as he
was that " seven and three are ten "29. The conviction that there is
certitude is hardly the position of an Academic. The suspension of
judgment that he refers to in this same context do es not imply an adherence to the cause of the Academics but a re1uctance to be t wice cleceived.
The suspension of assent is emotional as well as intellectual - " tenebam
cor meum ab omlli assentione timens praecipitium ". - Augustine desires
certitude but is still ullable to comprehend spiritual thillgS except in
material form o
The assertion that the heaIth of his soul could not be cured except
by believing 30 is not a reference to the neec1 for a cure from the cloubts
of the Academics. Rather it points to the necessity of faith if he was
to be cured of the few remaining convictions of his Manichean beliefs,
viz. the representation of spiritual things, God and the soul, as corporeal
in nature. The certitude of faith hac1 to succeed the certituc1e of reason
rather than the sceptical doubt ; for, as we shall endeavor to maintain
later, Augustine was simply incapable of holding for any protracted
period of time the kinel of scepticism taught by the Academics. E ven
while waiting for t he cure of faith Augustine is still a rationalist of sorts.
What he requires is a different type of rationalism than that which
had led him to the Manicheans. For that r ationalism hac1 turned out
to be largely negative ; it was as much a protest against the Christian
faith as a defense of Manichean principIes. The real neeel of Augustine
at trus point was the gift of faith which conlel then lead him to an nnc1erstanding of Christian trnths .
Also, it would appear that what the Manicheans had requirecl of Augus- .
tine - to rely upon reason rather than faith - had Ied him to just those
clifficulties that unelermined his faith in lYIanicheism, i. e. the .belief in
the fabulons anel the absurd, for how could snch beliefs meet the test

:!S. BOYER Charles, S. J., C ltristian isnu ('t S'io-Platon.m e da?1, s la. formation de
sai11! AlIgustill, (Rom a"e. Officinm Libri Catltolici. 1953 ). p. 5'l.
09. ll. "-l. . p" 52 S.

30. lbid .

.. 1

AUGUSTIN E

AND THE ACADElvIICS

75

of reason already laid down ? Augustine seems to be approaching here

his own famous account of the relationship between faith and reason,
the " credo ut intelligam ". But the Manicheans have given priority
to reason yet they contradict their own position by asking their followers
to believe the absurdo This seems to be the conc1usion of Augustine
in the following passage from the COl1fessions :
Ex hoc tamen quoque iaro praeponens doctrinalU catholicam
Illodestius ibi minimeque fallaciter sentiebam iuberi, ut crederetur
quod non demonstrabatur siue esset quid, sed ClU forte non esset,
siue nec quid esset qUalll illic temeraria pollicitatione scientiae credulitatem inrideri et postea taln multa fabulosissima et absurdissirna,
qua demonstrari 110n poterant, credenda imperari".
For Augustine, of course, faith is prior and Ieads to understanding
reason gives understanding to faith . Augustine discerned that the
lVIanicheans were unabIe to grasp the true nature of faith. And perhaps
he hac1 also discernec1 at this time that the Academics distrustec1 both
reason and faith. The rejection of both reason and faith - the" acceptance
of a suspension of al! juc1gement. - Augustine may have felt woulc1
onIy lead to another deception 32 .
Now aIthough the way of reason as taught by the Manicheans was
founc1 wanting, reason was not to be abandonec1. Augustine is no misologist. He continues to accept the certainty of mathematical truths.
Furthermore, as he infonns us, no matter how much he had read oI a
contradictory nature in the writings of the philosophers, he could not
disbelieve in the existence of GOd 33 . Anc1 although his belief in God's
e:s:istence anc1 His provic1ence was unshaken, yet he did not know His
nature nor how to attain Him 34 .
Augustine's c1ifficulty at this juncture is twofolc1 : First, he lacks the
necessity of a faith in Christian principIes which on the grounds of reason
he is preparec1 to accept. Second, he lacks an adequate intellectual
understanding of those beliefs about God which he had never abandoned
- the existence of Goc1 anc1 the Diville Providence. Reason will help
him to understand the first, faith will enlighten him on the second. Concerning the nature of God - stil! a great stumbling block - an e:s:planation will come largely through faith, a1though his reading of the Platonists
will contribute to the intellectual preparation for his faith .

31. {bid ., p . 530.

32. It is interestiu[.{ to obsen"e that in the later Augustinian attnck

UpOll

scepti-

cism he emphasizes the fact that in being deceived he at least kllOWS that he exists
:\S one who is decei"ed.
'Vhether, we mig-ht add, stlch a deceptioll occurs at the
hands of the Marucheans or the Academics.
33 Ibid., pp. 530-531.
34- [bid., p. 53'. 1 fiud "it clifficult to accept the statemellt of R . Joli"et
that

" _-\.ugu~tin .

CnssicincU111, :nait renonc na scepticislne acarlmiciell, qui

10HN A. MOURANT

However, even before the reading of the Platonists, the intellectual

preparation of Augustine for faith has shown marked progress. He
comments upon his realization of the need and the importance of faith in
the natural order, in history, in every day life, and of the divine guidance
he was receiving in the direction of his faith 3S Thus his advance toward
Christianity was restrained not so much by intellectual considerations,
these were gradually being overcome, as by a lack of faith. In turn this
lack of faith was made more difficult for him by the materialism of every
day life.
" Inhiabam honoribus, lueris, coniugio, et tu inridebas "36.
The extent of his materialism finds further expression in the influence
upon him at this time of the Epicurean philosophy. In conversations
and arguments with his friends he notes the attraction of Epicureanism
except for its position on immortality. Despite all the persuasiveness
at this time of Epicureanism the belief in immortality remained a firm
conviction with Augustine 37

Continuing with the analysis of the Confessions, we find no explicit

references to the Academics in Book VII. The ear1y chapters of this
book are concerned with certain doubts and difficulties which he had
beco me aware of in Manicheism. He observes that the materialism of
the Manicheans kept him from an adequate conception of the self and
of God 3S . Despite his efforts to avoid a materialistic outlook, he continued
to think of God and the self in terms of corporeal entities. He conc1uded
that whatever could not be defined spatial1y was nothing 39 .

l'avait reten u pendant quelque teulps. Les Con/ession,s en truoignent netteIl1eut

(VI, v, 8, V II, XVII) et ave e beaueoup de preision, V III, v, 11 : ' J ene pouvais meme
allguer (ponr retarder la conversion des lUceurS) l'excuse qui naguere me permettait

de supposer que, si je ne mprisais pas eneore le monde pour m'attaeher

a vous,

e'est que la connaissance de la yrit tait en lno incertaille ; non, la vrit tait dja
pour moi, elle aussi, objet de eertitude. ' " E. A. 4, pp. 2II-2I2. The first two
refereIlces cited by Fr. J oli,'et lacl;: any precisioll that would justify his conteIltion.
Of the last reference (VIII, v, II) the statement eited appears within the eontext
of a passage on the conflict of the t..-o ,,,ilIs, a doctrine ofthe Manieheans t hat Augustine
\Vas to llloclify.
Furthermore, the statement that rus " perception of truth was
uncertain (incerta miru esset perceptio ueritatis) could refer to a doubt as. to whether
the Manichean tecrung or Christian truth was to be preferred. At any rate there
is no speeific reference to the Academies.

35 . E. A., '3, p. 530.

36. Ibid., p. 534.
37. bid. , pp. 570, 572 .
~
38 .. ' .et te incorruptil)i1elll et inuiolabilenl et illconnlutabilell1 totis lllec1ullis
credehaul, quia nesc:iens, un de et qU01noc1o. plane talnen uidebam. et certus ermn
id, quo corrumpi potest, deterius esse quam id quorl non potest, ... " [bid., p. 576 .
39 [bid ., p. 579

AUGUSTIN E

AND THE ACADEMICS

77

Augustine is also certain at this time that the Manichean solution to

the problem of evil is inadequate. He recognizes that corruption anc1
change cannot be allowed to faU back on that which is immutable and
incorruptible41 He rejects with contempt the lVIanichean explanation
of the origin of moral evil, but confesses that he is unable to understand
how our own free will is the cause of evil 42 . He continues his inquiry
into the source of evil alld weighs different possibilities for explaining
the origin of evil 43 . The solution to the problem eludes him and he is
concerned over his failure to discover the truth. Yet he remain, as he
says, withill the Church although there was much that he did not understand 44 .
In the meantime he frees himself from the superstitiolls of astrology45.
The problem of evil continues to baffle him 46 . However, such difficulties
did 110t disturb his belief in God's existence, His immutability, His
providence, nor in the salvation that can be achieved in the life to come
through Christ. Yet with ali these convictions firmIy held he still
sought allxiously for a solutioll to the problem of evil 47 The real conversion of Augustine to Christianity must wait upon the solution to the
problem of evil alld particularly as it affected his own moral life. For
his conversion to be complete it must be both moral and inteUectual.
Furthermore, the intellectual conversion at this stage is still incomplete,
many difficulties and doubts remain. His further progress away from
Manicheism to Christianity awaits the influence and the contributions
of the Neo-Platonists. They will supply Augustine with an immaterialist
philosophy, a spiritual conception of God and the soul, and especialiy
with an ontological solution to the problem of evil4S . The moral conversion and the total embrace of Christianity awaits the grace of God. But
this is another chapter in the conversion of Augustine.
To the point of his conversion in Book VIII of the Confessions there
seems to be then insufficient evidence to substantiate the notion that
Augustine was ever an Academic. Instead the evidence points to the
greater persistence of the Manichean influence upon the mind of Augustine.
The doubts that Augustine experienced in this period of his life are not
the doubts of a phi1osopher but those of a re1igious mano His doubts
are directed to those Manichean principIes that stand as anobstacleto
40

40. It is 110W the y e ar 38 5 anc1 Augustine is thirty years alel.

41. l bid., p. 58442. lbi d., pp. 584, 586.
43 Ibid., pp. 590, 592.
44 .. .. stabiliter tamen haerebat in corde meo in catholica ecclesia fieles Christi
tui, domini et saluatoris nostri, in multis quidem adhuc informis et praeter doctrinae
nor ma m fluitans, sed tamen non eam relinquebat nnhnus. ilnnlO in clies luagis
1l1agisque inbibebat. (lbid., p. 594).
45. Ibid., p. 600.
46. lbid., p. 602.
47. lbid. , p . 604.
48. Ibid. , pp. 618-626, 634-636.

7 tl

JOHiV .4. NIOURANT

the acceptance of Christianity. The illtellectual, moral, ancl religious

clevelopment of Augustine is essential1y from Manicheism to Christianity,

rather than from jUanicheism to the Academics, thence to Neo-Platonislll

and finalIy to Christianity. The Academics provided Augustine witl~

the necessary means to cha1lenge the J\1anichean position, but despite
their attraction they (lid not lead him to adopt a positioll of philosophical
eloubt. The reading of the Platonists, -it might be saiel, diel not convert
him to Platonism but rather provided reasons for the intellectual acceptance of Christianity.
'Ve woulcl also argue at this pont that there are exstelltial clepths
to a religious conversion that escape any easy surface analysis. In Augustne's case it would be naccurate to contend that the work of grace was
somethng of a sudden ancl instantaneous nature. The conversion in the
garden was the climax and the consummatioll of a process of conversion
that had begun much earlier. Ths seems evidellt enough from Augustine's own account. It s reflecteel particularIy in the very strong conviction that Augustine possessed in the rea1ity anel the efficacy of the divine
providence. Such a conviction stanels out in such instances as the
impression the wrtings of Ccero maele upon him, the strength of his
mother's faith, the eleath of a close friend, the journey from Carthage to
Rome, the v'sit to Milan to hear Ambrose, and the reaelngs of the " books
of the Platonists ". AH of these nstances ancl more maI1ifestec1 for
Augustne the foreshadowngs of the divne provclence ancl the work
of the divne grace that was to lead eventually to the ecstatic embrace
of the elivine truth.
The graclualness of the slow retum to Christianity can be correlated
to the gradual decline in the effectiveness of the JYIanichean influence. It
s a1so a testimony to the strength of Augustine's Manichean convictions
ancl the long holcl that this cloctrine exercisecl upon him 49. It is JYIanicheism and the problems it raises thaf are the dominant concern of Augustine up to the conversion n the garelen and not the philosophical
ssues raiseel by the Acaelemcs.
The persstence of the lVlanichean influence contnueel right elown
to the point of his converson. At the very onset of the famous garelen
scene, Augustine comments viviclly upon his inwarel tensions, the
apparellt disntegration of the seU as he c1eliberated UpOll the choice of
God. Contrary to the JYIanicheans who helel to the doctrine of two wills,
the one gooel anel the other evil, Augustne eleclares :

49 . It way be suggested that the strength DI l\Iarucheislll is olso edd~llt in the

severity of Augustine's recrimillatiuns against this sect in cOluparison with his
cOllsic1eratioll of the philosophers. 'fhe treatment of the Acac1elllics, as \ye shall
note later, is somewhat ambi\alent. 'fhe treatment of the Neo-Platonists is
generally fayorable.

AUG U STINE AND THE ACAlJENIICS

79

ego CUlll ddiberabaul, u t ianl seruirelll clOllUllO deo lueo. sicut

diu disposueram, ego eram, qui uolebam, ego, qui noIebam ; ego
eranl.

Nec plene uoleball'l. nec plene nolebaul, ideo lnecmn contencle-

bal11 et clissipalJar a me ipso, et ipsa dissipatio me inuito quidem fielJat,

nec tal1len ostendebat natural1l mentis alienae, sed poenal1l meae.
Et ideo non iam ego operabar illam, sed quod habitabat in me peccatulll
de supplicio liberioris peccati, quia eral1l filius Adam."
'rhe entire chapter shows that the Manichean heresy was vividly
befo re hi111. The final act of grace not ooly converts him to Christianity
but libera tes him fram one of the more pernicious moral doctrines of the
lV[anicheans that had long stood in his way.
After his conversion and during the beginning of rus stay at Cassiciacum, Augustine writes very movingly of his reading of the Psalms of
David 51 He expresses strongly his indignation with the Manicheans
as well as his pity for them. The whole account in th.is chapter shows
clearly that he was preoccupied with the Manicheans and not the Academics. The references to the Manicheans are quite explicit 52 . This is
true also in the statement : " o si uiderent internum aeternum., quod ego
quia gustaueraum 53... The " they " in this case does not refer to both
the Academics and the Manicheans as Sciacca maintains 54 . The context
is the commentary on Psalm 4 and the reference in the preceding paragraph
has been to the Manicheans. AIso the reference to the eternal light is
fram Eph. 5. 8. and this would seem to rule out any implication of a
connection with the Academics or the Plotinian notion of light.
Furthermore, in a letter to Secundinus Augustine notes that he left
the Manicheans through fear :
Ego el1.m fateor, timore Manichaeos deserui, sed timore illorum
verborum quae per apostolum Paulum prolata sunt : Spi-ritus, inquit,
manifeste dieit, quia in novissi mis temporibus reeedent q"idam a fide,
attendentes sp'iritib'lttS sedttctol'ib'LtS et doctrinis dae1'Jwniortt'm, -in, hypocrisi

mendaciloqttoyum, cauteriatam habentes conscientiam suam, prohibentes

n'lLbere, abstinentes a e'ibis

q1.tOS

Deus creavit ad

peYcip'iend1.t1'l~

gmtiarunt elctione fidelibus, et iis qui cognovel'u'I2t veritatem .

CU1n

Omn-is eni",

creat'U-ra Dei bona est, el nihil ab.ic,iendu111, quod CU1n gratia.1''1.l,'ln actione
[1 T im. , IV, 1-4] . "

pe-rcipitw'.

50. ll. _'l.., t.j, p. 54SI. Conjcss'ion,s IX. 4'" 8-12. .iVIuch 01 this chapter is a COllllllt:utar)- 011 Psatlll. .~.
5:2 .. .. qU:llU ueheUlenti et acri dolare indignabar lUUllic1tacis et nlist:raLar eos
rursus, quoc1 illa sacramenta, Ua llledicaluellta nescirent et insani essent aducrsus
autic1otlllll, quo sani esse potuissent! (B. A. 14. p. 84).
", et merito irasci, quin. non alin. natura gentis tenebrarulll de lile peccabat. sicut
dicunt qui sibi non irascuntur et thesauriznnt sibi iram in elie irae et reuelationis
iusti iutlicii tui! [RolI/. l. 5i (Ibid., p. 8S).
53 . Ibid., p. 90.
5+ SCL-\.CCA M. T'., S"int .-lu.guslin el le "<'oplalo,,i.,,/.(>, (Louy ain, 1956) p. 0-1.
55 B. _'l.., '7, p. 540.

So

JOHN A. MOURANT

May we not assume that with the renewecl interest of Augustine in

Scripture the words of Sto Paul seemec1 to be direded against just
those Manichean doctrines that were giving him particular difficultyat
the time of rus conversion? The exhortations of the first three verses
were to be quickly consummateel, but the Iast couId apparentIy take
place only with some intellectual explanation such as he was to find in
Neo-Platouism of the metaphysics and gooel and evil. Since this letter
was in all probability written around 397 alld at the approximate time
of the composition of the Confessions, its correlation with the thought
of that work and the evellts of the conversion would be fairly well established.
Finally, the intensity and the vehemence of his oppositioll to the
Manicheans may again be noted. He states :
legebam et ardebam nec inueniebam, quid facerem surdis mortuis,
ex quibus fueram, pestis, latrator amarus et caecus acluersus litteras
ele melle caeli melleas et de lumine tuo luminosas, et super inimicis
scripturae huius tabescebam."
These are the words of a religious man, of one who has recent1y found
the true faith and shaken off the falseo They are not the words of a
phi1osopher concerned principally to refute ,other phi1osophers. The
Manicheans are the true enemy ; they are very much with Augustine
right down to the point of his conversion and they remain with him
down to the completion of the treatises directed against them. Compared
to their influence that of the Academics is minima!.
:1:

* *
Such we finel to be the evidence of the Confessions. 1s it possible,
however, to maintaill this interpretation without serious modification in
the light of the evidence of the dialogues of Cassiciacum ? Even though
we rejed the thesis of Alfaric that these dialogues demonstrated that
Augustille was first con verted to philosophy and then to Christianity,
is there not sufficiellt evidence to show ullequivocally that Augustine
was converted to the Acadernics prior to his conversion to Christianity
in 386 ? We trunk noto The dialogues of Cassiciacum may be expected
to cause more elifficulty because their composition antedates that of the
Confessions. They are c10ser to the events of the critical years than are
the Confessions wruch were written so me ten years later and in retrospect.
On the other hand, it can be argueel that for this very reason the Confessions may be said to present a greater objectivity anel to represent a more
mature judgment on the part of the author. However that may be, the
evaluation of the evidence of the dialogues will be lirnited.,.principally

56. B. A., 14, p . 92 .

AUGUSTINE AND THE ACADEMICS

SI

to a consideration of the De beata uita, the De Ordine, and the Contra

Academicos. In addition we shall look briefly to the evidence from the
Letter to Hermogenianus and the Retractationes.
One other preliminary consideration needs to be noted. In some
respects our interpretation of the dialogues has been influenced by
Boyer with whom we are in general agreement S ? That is, we are in
complete accord with Boyer's point that Augustine was not a sceptic
during bis sojourn at Cassiciacum and that his conversion to
Christianity in 386 was both real and sincere. However; Boyer like
others contends that Augustine prior to bis conversion to Christianity
did adhere fOI a brief period to the position of the Academics. Tbis we
reject. As we have already noted we grant that Augustine was influenced
by the Academics and that it was their sceptical outlook that intensified
his own developing distrust of the Manicheans in the period immediately
preceding bis conversion. In other words, we hope to show that the
evidence of the dialogues is in cooformity with that of the Conjessions.
Turning first to the De beata uita we find the evidence here somewhat
inconc1usive and presenting certain difficulties of interpretation. In
the first chapter, which is largely autobiographical, Augustine first
resorts to a metaphor to explain bis intellectual development and his
progress toward phi1osophy and the attainment of the happy life. He
observes that there are three c1asses of seafarers who would journey to
the port of phi1osophy58. Interpreting the metaphor; it may be argued
that the reference to the first c1ass of individuals to be embraced by
phi1osophy is to the Academics. If so, the Academics Augustine has
in mind are probably some contemporary imitators of the Academics
who lacked the persistence and the ability to be true philosophers. Such
men lack the profundity and the secret wisdom of philosophers like
Carneades 59 . The second c1ass probably refers to such materialists
as the Stoics and Epicureans 60 The tbird class evidently refers to those
who like Augustine have found the true phi1osophy in Christianity. Of
the members of tbis c1ass there are those who with but little delay attain
the goal of the happy life and those whose progress toward such a goal is
delayed for various reasons 61 This interpretation is verified for the
most part in the explanation given in 1. 4. Noting that his love for
phi1osophy came with bis reading of the Hortensius of Ccero, Augustine

57 . Op. Cit ., cf. especially pp. 135 ff.

SS. B . A ., 4, pp. 222, 224.
59. Cf. The Le/ter to Herl1zogeniam,s, W'riti-ngs 01 Saint AHgustine, (New York:
Fathers of the Church, 195 r), Volume 9, pp . 3-460. Perhaps also to the Manicheans. The language of the entire paragraph
lacks any explicit allusions or references.
6r. The al1usions to the " fog ", the " sinking stars ", and " alluring charm ",
the " unfavorable tempest "; may refer to Manicheism, the love of the classical
\vritings, the worldly life and laves, and August:ille's illness which conlpellecl him
to rest temporarily fronl a more active life.

JOHN

A. NfOURANT

observes that this was followed by his acceptance oi Mal1icheism G2

Abal1donil1g lVIanichesm he reports : " At ub ruscussos eos evasi, maxime
traiecto isto mari , diu gubernacula mea repugnantia omnibus ventis in
mec1iis fli.tctibus Academici tel1uerUl1t "63 .
Trus statemel1t contrasts sharply with what we conjectured was a
possible reference to the Acaclemics or their followers in 1.2 . The present
statement seems quite explicit al1d an obvious il1terpretatiol1 of it would
be that Augustine was a follower of the Academics for a period of sorne
three years 64 . However, this would contraclict the rather clecisive
passage from the Confessions V. I4. 24. in which Augustine merely says
that " in the manner of the Academics, as they are interpretecl,I was in
eloubt about all things, " ancl he aclds, as we have previously observed,
that he " refused altogether to commit the cure of (his) sickly soul to those
phi1osophers who were without the hea1th-giving name of Christ "65. To
our earlier observations on trus passage we would add that the phrase
" in the manner of " is rugh1y ambiguous and can hardly be said to show
any explicit aclherence to the Acaclemic cause.
The assertion of Augustine that " for a long time the Academics steerecl
rus course6 6 " could mean simply that like the Academics he doubted.
but for bis part he diel not accept doubt as a principIe of philosophy or
as a way of life. It was only " after their ma=er " or in " imitatioll "
of them that he looked upon some of the problems and perplexities that
confronted him. That the Academics guided rum " for a long period
of time " may be regarded as a necessary construction of language if
the metaphor of the sea alld the long journey to Rome is to be maintained.
Again, the lellgth of time may represent merely a psychological state of

6:.!. COllceruing Augustille's intellectual developlllent cluring the period of hs

membership iu tlle l1auiche::m seet, it is very likely that his iuterests iu Cieero aud
the Latin culture continuecl and that he clevotecl much of his time to the perfection
of his kuowledge aud skill of rhetoric. It wouldalso s eelll quite likely that he lllust
ha ve spent l good part of his time in the further study uncl practise of l\:Ia,nicheis ln.
He uncloubtedly perfectecl his kno\Yleclge of the basie principies ane! practises of
ldanicheislll only gradllally fallillg away from thrLt sect with his cliscovery of :l
kind of Christian gnosticisru aided and supplementee! by his acquaintance with
the Neo-Platowsts. "lVith his moral and religious conversion to Christiawt)' the
break with 1.1anicheism finally becomes complete. \Ve shoule! be cautious iu au)'
nllllimizing of Augustine's jUullicheislu because of t\ll excesshe conceru to dwell
UpOll his conyersion to Christianity.
This can easily le ad to a distortiou of the true
picture oI Augustine's religious developlllent.
63. B . A., 4, p. 228.
64. This is the interpretation given hy Sehopp \Vho dcclarcs that " Augustinc
hacl heen a follower of this philosophieal gronp frolll his twenty-eighth year up t o
his conyersian." Saint Angustine, T ite Happ y Lije, translated by Lne!wig Sehopp,
(New York, The F athers of t he Chureh, "948), p . 47.
~
65. ita que Aca.denlicorunl 1110re, sicut existimalltur, cluhitans ele OlllUibus ...
quibus tamen philosophis, quod sine salut ari nomine Christi essent, curationem
lallgUOriS aniiu.ae meae eoumittere omnino recusahalll. (B.A., t3, pp. 5to, 5t2).
66 . B. A. 4, p. 228.

AUGUSTINE AND THE ACADEMICS

mind which in retrospect seemed to have existed for a long period o

time. AIso, the oft repeated phrase " in the manner o the Academics "
can just as easily refer to the manner in whieh Augustine doubts of the
iHanicheans and their materialism, just as the Aeademies had doubted
of the Stoics and the Epicureans and their materialismo Nowhere c10es
Augustine specifiea1ly assert that he aeceptec1 the position o the Academies. Furtherrnore, 1'rygetius, speaking we rnay assurne for Augustine6 7,
declares of the Academics :
Quare gaucleo iamdiu curo illis me inimicitias suscepisse. Nam
nescio qua impellente natura, vel, ut verius dicam, Deo, etiam nesciens
quomodo refellendi essent, tamen ei nimis adversabar".
1'his statement evidentIy contradicts the oue previously cited 69 For
Trygetius states quite explicitIy that he has been opposed to the Academies for sorne time, even though he did not know how they were to be
refuted. Assuming that he represents the attitude of Augustine, it is
difficult to see mueh more than an ambivalenee in the attitude of Augustine towards the Academies. Certainly, it cannot be said unequivoealIy
that Augustine ever became an Academic. 1'estard observes that
Augustine hac1 a confic1ence in the human understanding that Cicero c1id
not know.
Saint Augustin COID1tlt toujours une grande confiance dans l'illtelligence humaine. Cette confiance subit a diverses reprises l'preuve
du doute, la tentation du scepticisme, mais elle en triompha toujours."
Two points neecl to be made with respect to the record of the dialogue
itself. First the references to the Academies are eoncerned principalIy
with Augustine's contention that since the Aeademics cannot find truth
or wisdom, the happy lile is not possible for them 71 . 1'his eontention is
a reflection o Augustine's judgment of the Aeademics rather than an
historie al statement of their position. For the Academics he1d that the
proper end o the philosopher is that of quietude or tranquillity (ataraxy),
a state of mental rest that follows the suspension of judgment and the
acceptance of the probable 72. 1'his also seems to be Augustine's inter67. In this dialogue as well as in the Cotra Academicos, Trygetius eriticizes
the Acac1eulics nnd :lssists _'\.ugustine iu the argnments usecl against theUl. The
De betCt v;ta ,,"as eompleted shortl)' after Augustine's thirty seeond birthday.
It "'as ,,"ritten during the eOlllposition of the Contra .1eademieos aud is the first of
his works to be completed "nd transmitted to posterity. Tlle De p-,Ze/ro el apto

is lost.
68. lbid., p.
69. lb-i d., p.

04~.
208.

70. TESTARD M .,

Saint Aug"stin et Cie-ron, p. 341.

71. 13 .A. 4, pp. 246, 248.

72 . Gooc1 statements of the

positiou helc1 by tlle Aeademies are to be fouud iu

Scxtus Empiricus, O"tlines oi P :vrrhonis1I/., The Loeb Classieal Library, Translatec1
hy R. G. Bury, (Lonc1on and Cambridge: I955, Heinelllann aud Harvard Uui,"ersity
Press), pp. 9, I9, 2I.

JOHN A. MOURANT

pretation o their position i we interpret the statement in the prologue

conceming the first class of those seafarers embraced by phi1osophy as
applying to the Academics. The passage may be interpreted as meaning
that those who go but a little way in phi1osophy and are content to suspend
judgment and follow the easy path of the probable will achieve tranquillity 73. Thus Augustine's conc1usions that the Academics are miserable
is more a reflection of his own state of mind in the period just prior to his
conversion. And since the whole testimony of the Confessions is to the
effect that he was unhappy because he was unable to attain truth and
wisdom, it would appear most unlikely that he had ever embraced the
Academic cause.
Second, the dialogue is strictly a religious disputation as Augustine
himself notes 74 . Its religious character is revealed in its dedication to
Theodorus 75 and in its purpose, namely, to formulate the principIes of
the happy life in terms of Christianity. Thus there can be no question
of Augustine's Christianity during this periodo
Finally, the prologue of the dialogue is autobiographical but presents
us only with a very abbreviated account of Augustine's intellectual
development. It correlates c10sely with the Confessions but is much
less significant for its account of the AcadeIDcs than the Confessions 76 .
Actually, there is on1y one explicit reference to the Academics in the
prologue. The dialogue as a whole shows Augustine's opposition to the
Academics butnot that he ever accepted their position. In rus limited
knowledge of philosophy he saw them as an obstac1e to Christianity, a
sect that must be rejected because it offered nothing to Christian truth.
Considering next the De ordine, Augustine informs us that the two
books of this dialogue were written during the composition of the Cont,'a
Thus the De ordine touches significantly upon the proAcademicos n
blem of the relation of Augustine to the Academics. The purpose of the
dialogue is the consideration of the problem of evil and the divine providence 78 . Augustine's analysis of trus problem shows that he had moved
beyond lVIanicheism and Scepticism to a Christian solution. Like the
De beatavita the dialogue is essentially religious. The prulosophy
expressed is a Christian philosophy79. As FI. Russell puts it :

73. R. A. 4, p.

222f.
23L

74- Ibid., p.
75.

~1anlius

Theodorus, a contenlporary of Augustine and n.n outstanding convert

to Christianity.
76. Por a comparative evaluatian oi the Confessions and the D-ialog-u,es see BOY.lUt,
Christianisme et No-Platon-is1ne . . " pp. 20-26.
77 . Retractationes, R. A. 12, p. 285.

78. Ibid.
~
79. The references of Augustine to philosophy in this dialogue as in many of his
writings are not always precise and free from ambiguity. Sometimes he appears
to mean by the term "philosophy ", tlle traditional or Platonic sense. Rut at otller
times the term can be equatecl to Christian wisdom and truth.

.-'1 UG U STI N E

A N D

THE ACADEMICS

85

Por, notwithstanding the presence of eleme nts thatsuggest a Platon-

ic or neoPlatoruc origin, thoughts distinctly and exclusively Christian

are not on1y clearly discenrible, but predominate throughout the
entire dialogue".
The references to the Academics in this dialogue are few and may be
dealt with briefly. In chapter four during the opening of the discussion
on the problem of order, Licentius remarks that poetry cannot divert
him from philosophy as much as a doubt of discovering the truth 81 .
Trygetius then observes that now Licentius is not an Academic, although
he had former1y be en accustomed to defend them zealously82.
This passage could be interpreted to imply a reflection of a position
held by Augustine some years earlier. For Licentius is much too young
at the time of this remark to be regarded as ever having defended the
sceptics so zealously. It is more likely, however, that the statement
reflects the position of Romanianus, the father of Licentius. Romanianus,
the close friend of Augustine, had been converted to Manicheism by
Augustine. Following Augustine's rejection of Manicheism, Romanianus
hesitated to follow his friend 's example and embrace Christianity. Instead he adopted the position of the Academics. Our conjecture would
be that it was Romanianus who zealously defended the Academics in his
conversations with Augustine and that he probably found their doctrines
useful in resisting the efforts of Augustine to convert him to Christiaruty.
The stubborness of Romanianus and the fact that he did not beco me a
Christian until much later testifies to the strength of Augustine's earlier
convictions for the truth of Manicheism and his ability to communicate
such convictions to his friends. The persistence of Romanianus in resisting conversion to Christianity and in using the Academic philosophy
to this purpose may also be said to be reflected in the fact that the Contra
Academicos is addressed to Romanianus. The refutation of the Academics
is directed primarily to him and the clesire of Augustine to convert him
to Christianity.
A similar purpose is not evident in any role that could be assigned to
Licentius. Licentius was apparently never converted to Christiaruty
despite the appeals of Augustine and Romanianus S3. This would rule
out any consideration that he was meant to represent Augustine, although
his enthusiasm, his love of poetry, his concern with the problem of order
and evil, are representative of similar interests on the part of Augustine.
In both this dialogue and in the Contra Academicos Licentius and Tryge-

.J

,~

I~ .
j

h!
,

80. Fat"e1's 01 tit e Ch,ach, 'Vritings 01 Sto An!;"s!'i"e, Vohulle I , transla ted b y
Robert P. Russell, O . S. A ., (New York : '948). p. 231.
8r. B .A. 4, p . 3I 8.
82. TUln Trygetius gaudentibus ver bis Habenlus, inquit, ialn, quod plus est,
Licentium non Academicum ; eos enn ille studiosissime defendere solebat. (bid .)
83. ef. Letter 32 written in 396 by P a ulinus and Therasia and addressed to
Romanianus . Wri ti ngs 01 St o A " gustine , Fathers 01 the el",rch, translated by
Sister Wilfrid P an;ons , (Ne\Y York : I951 ), Volume 9, p . I I 9.

86

JOHN A. l'v[OURANT

tius are treated as students with the need o students for discipline and
phi1osophy. Their representation of the position or character of Augustine

himself must always be carefully restricted.

Our analysis o the Contra Academicos will be eoneemed with what light
the dialogue throws upon the relations of Augustine to the Aeademies
rather than with any detailed study of Augustine's statements and refutations of their arguments. "Ve hope to show that the evidenee of the
dialogue supports the eonc1usions we have already argued for eoneeming
Augustine's relation to the Academics.
The Contra Academicos was written while Augustine was aIread}' a
Christian. The dialogue itself reveals this sufficientl}'. In addition
there is the fact that the De ordine, a strongly religious dialogue was
eomposed at the same time. Finally, the De beata ita was written before
the Contra Academicos and it is equally a religious dialogue . All this
leaves little to be said ior Alfaric's thesis that Augustine was not a Christian at the time. The purpose, then, of Augustine in the Contra Academicos is not the refutation of the Academics as a condition for his own
aeceptance oi Christianity, but rather the refutation oi the Academie
doctrine as an obstac1e to the aeeeptanee of Christianity by others, ancl
notably by Romanianus his friendo
Although the thesis of Alfarie is no longer aeeeptecl, it has left its mark
upon the interpretation of Augustine's intellectual clevelopment. As
we have seen this interpretation takes the form oi assigning certain fixed
stages to Augustine's intellectual development. A reeent example oE
this type of interpretation is found in Fr. Kavanagh's introduction to his
translation of the Contra Academicos.
Fr. Kavanagh writes :
After an interval of thirty-five years, Augustine tells in retrospeet
that rus cruef need at that time was the removal o al! doubt of the
possibility oi finding truth : ' Therefore at the beginning of my conversion 1 wrote three books so that those things whieh blockecl my
way at the threshold, might not prove an obstacle to me '. ' The three
books against the Academics' were, then, Augustine's farewellletter to
the philosophy wruch he hacl followed last, a philosophy that hac1 the
aim to justify doubt as to one's ultimate attituc1e. ""
We have aIread}' argued that Augustine did not wholl}' aeeept the
Aeademic position for any period of time and that there is no real
evidence to show explieitly that he was actually eonverted to their position. It inay be signifieant to observe that in this quoted statement
from Augustine he refers to the " begi:iming of my conversion " and not
" before " his eonversion ss The use of " before " wouId have indieatecl
S+ Fa/hers Di lite Chu.rch, V"itings 01 SI. Auguslille, Volume r , trallsIatcc1 by
Denis J. Kavanagh, O. S. A. (New York: 1948), p. 89.
<>
85. The original statenlent reads Uncle tria confeci vohl1l1ina in iuitio COl1\-ersionis 111eae, ne impedi1uento l10bis essent, qune talllquanl in ostio contradicebant.
Et utique fuerat removenda inveniendae desperatio ,-eritatis, quae iIIorl1m I'jrletnr
argumentationibus robornri. (TI . A. 9, p. Lfo).

AUGUSTIlVE AND THE ACADENlICS

a period prior to his acceptance of Christianity in which he had followed

the Academic philosophy. But for Augustine doubting was real ancl
not methoclic. Instead of being limited to a brief and precise stage in
his intellectual development it embodiecl a long ancl restless quest for
the truth. Any' period ' of doubt for Augustine would have to be traced
back to his initial doubts of Manicheism, probably to some time prior
to his meeting with Faustus
Furthennore, when Augustine states that " at the beginning of my
conversion " he means quite specifically the period immediately prior
to his baptismo However, his conversion may also be understood as a
continuing and viable religious experience extending over a much longer
period of time. For Augustine regarded his progress toward Christianity
as providential and marked by God's continuing grace. It may be conjecturec1 that the precise point of the beginning of his conversion arose
with his first doubts of Manicheism. And that such doubts were increased
and intensified by those events that he regarded as providential. These
doubts were a natural part of his religious development. They should
not be interpreted as representing a position of philosophical doubt.
Finally, at the time of the writing of the dialogue Augustine is undergoing a period of preparation for his baptismo As a catechumen it was
necessary that he be instructed in the faith . His instruction seems to
have been largely self instruction and to have consisted in the reading
of Scripture and also no doubt of the Neo-Platonic phi1osophy. This
readillg is refledec1 in both the philosophical interests evoked at Cassiciacum as well as in the strong religious tone and interests that all the
dialogues of Cassiciacum seem to exhibit. That he read both phi1osophy
and Scripture must be considered as the context in which to interpret
his attitude toward the Academics and the problem of truth. Such a
context does much to explain his sometimes ambivalent attitude and
the difficulty of interpreting his position.
Turning next to a few specific points in the first book oi the dialogue,
it is important to note that the dialogue is dedicated to Romanianus
who is exhorted to the study of phi1osophy. The dedication to Romanianus would indicate that Augustine's interest in refuting the Academics
is motivated in good part by a desire to bring about the conversion of
his friend Romanianus . The meaning of " philosophy " in the exhortation is somewhat ambiguous. Augustine states :
Ouam sententiam uherrinlanUll doctrinarum oraculis editam, remotmque longissime ab inte1lectu profanonun, se c1emonstraturam
veris amatorihus suis, ad quam te invito, philosophia pollicetur. "
vVithin the context of this entire section, anc1 in particular in substituting
" Providence " for " Fortune ", this passage could be interpreted as an

86 ,

n,

A., 4. p, 16.

 . ~i

JOHN

88

A. MOURA NT

exhortation to Christian philosophy. On the other hand, as O'Meara S ?

points out, this passage may be interpreted as an invitation to a synthesis
of Christian truth and the philosophy of Neo-Platonism.
A few paragraphs later in a statement reflecting his own intellectual
development, the exhortation to phi1osophy is quite explicitly to NeoPlatonism 88
The position of Licentius in the comment that foilows is somewhat
ambiguous. He is pictured as devoted to philosophy89. Later in
the dialogue his position is aligned with that of the Academics for whom
he is the spokesman. Augustine's intention may be conjectured as fo1l6ws.
Since his objective is the conversion of Romanlanus what better appeal
could he use than to cite the position of Licentius . That Licentius is
devoted to philosophy will please Romanianus and so wiil the apparent
ability of his son as a philosopher and as a defender of the Academic
position. However, the failure of Licentius to persuade Augustine
to the Academic position as well as Augustine's own skillful refutation
of scepticism may move Romanianus to abandon the Academics and to
turn at least to Neo-Platonism if not immediately to Christianity.
This conjecture finds some confirmation toward the close of Book r.
in which Augustine sums up the development of the argument between
Trygetius and Licentius. The debate turns upon the problem of happiness and its relation to the pursuit or the possession of truth. Licentius
accepts the typically Greek notion that the pursuit of truth or wisdom
brings happiness. This view is representative of the Academics and
Licentius is defending them. It is Augustine's desire to win over Licentiu$
(and rus father) to the Christian view of happiness as consisting in the
possession and not just the pursuit of wisdom. Augustine points out
that a record of the debate will be sent to Romanianus:
.
Quamobrem iam istam, ut dixi, disputationem terminemus, et
relatam in litteras mittamus, Licenti, potissimum patri tuo, cuius
erga phi1osophiam iam prorsus animum t eneo. Sed adhuc quae admittat, quaero fortunam. Incendi autem in haecstudia vehementius
poterit, CUIn teipsum iam [intentum] mecum sic vivere, non audiendo
s01um, verum etiam 1egenc10 ista cognoverit. "

87.

John J.

O'ThEARA, Sto Au.gu.stine A gainst the Academ.ics, Ancient Christian

Writers, Vol. J 2 (vVestminster, Md., I950), p. J70, 11. 3. O'MEARA observes that this
is substantiated in In. 43 and Augustine's statemellt : " Apud Platonicos me interim
quod sacris nostris non repugnet reperturum esse conficlo. "
88 . Cf. B. A., 4, pp. IS, 20 where he recounts how, after he

had given up the profession of rhetoric, he retired to Cassiciacum "ud devoted himself to philosophy.
The whole passage is more clearly relevant to Neo-Platonism, particularly in the
reference to Utis philosophy freeing him from the materialism '"of the Manichean
superstition. Cf. also the Conjessions, 7. 20ff.
89. Although tb-e

conte~t

might indicate Neo Platonislll, the word Augustine

uses is " sturuosissime " which might best be rendered as " a devotion to learning ".
90. B . A . 4, p. 60.

AUGUSTINE A N D THE ACADEMICS

89

The implication here would appear to be that the philosophizing skill

of Licentius may intensify his father's interest in philosophy and that
Augustine's ability to refute the Academic position presented by Licentius
will ultimateIy win over Romanianus to Christianity. In effect, Augustine would accomplish two objectives : the refutation of the Academics
and the conversion of Romanianus. And Iest we underestimate the
Iatter, it should be observed that the value and the place of friendship
was a factor of much importance in the life .of Augustine 91
The opening of Book n . of the dialogue is marked by a continuation
of this appeal of Augustine to his friend Romanianus to abandon the
Academics with their " deceitful pretence " and " obstinate persistence ".
In this opening chapter Augustine observes that the Academics seem to be
invincibIe only because of our own Iack of diligence and our aversion to
learning. He counsels that in such a struggle we must appeal. for divine
aid if we are to attain the " port of wisdom " 92. The allusion to the
" port of wisdom " may be interpreted as Christian wisdom or philosophy,
for Augustine prays for the liberation of the mind of Romanianus from
the Academics. Since Augustine himself is a Christian at this time, his
prayer for Romanianus would be more logically directed to the hope for
his acceptance of Christianity rather than Neo-Platonism, The attainment of the latter would only continue the quest for wisdom and fal to
yield the desired finality of the possession of wisdom in Christian truth.
In this instance the metaphor of the port might be interpreted as the
final port of cal!.
Augustine's own position at this time is revealed rather precisely in
chapter two when, after appealing to Romanianus once more to embrace
philosophy and recounting his indebtedness to him 93 , he observes :
" Cuius autem minister fueris, plus adhuc fide concepi, quam ratione
comprehendi "94. This statement reflects we11 the fact that at the time
of the writing of the dialogue Augustine had accepted Christianity upon
faith but still sought a better understanding of his faith. The statement
further testifies to the predilection of Augustine for a providential interpretation of the eveuts leading up to his acceptauce of Christianity.
After a brief digression on philocaly Augustine returns again to the
question of philosophy and points out to Romanianus that " " Restant
duo vitia et impedimenta inveniendae veritatis "95 Fr. Kavanagh
observes of Augustine that :

i ,

91. On the s ubj ect 01 friendship and its importance and influence in the life of
Augustine, see Sister i\lI.A. McNAMARA, Friends amd Friendship 101' Sainl A "gusline. (New York: Alba House, T964).
92 . B . A. 4, pp. 60, 62.
93. See also the Conjessions 2. 3, 3. I T, a nd 47
94. B . A. 4, p . 66.
95. [ bid. , p . ]2. The t\,o defeds a re lVIanicheisIll a nrl Academicism.

.10HH A. MOURAHT

<)0

I-Ie fears that R011lanianus nlav llave returned to the

~1anicheall

Su-

perstition, although he was an aclherent to the New Academy, 'seekinoand doubting " when he departecl frolll J\1ilan.

This disputation w~

to clisabuse him of Skepticism.

Approximately four years later,

and declicated
He c1evotes aH of the 11i11t11 chapter to a refutation

Augustine composecl the treatise, TJe T"1W ReNgion,

it to Romanianl1s.
of lYfanicheism. ""

This concurs with our own judgment on the purpose oi the dialogue, It
also gives added confirmation to our contention oi the strength oi the
Manichean heresy and the great hold it must have exercised upon Augustine,
The statement of the rage of Romanianus at the Academics 97 , may
just as well be a reflection of Augustine's own attitucle towarcl the Acaclemics, As such it coulcl then be argued that Augustine was enraged at
them because he had been cleceivecl into accepting their doctrine. On
the other hancl, it might be argued that he was simply enraged with
their attempted cleception but that he hacl not accepted their doctrine.
Of greater significaJ;lce, however, is the further comment of Augustine
that the rage of Romanianus was the more spontaneous because ofhis
great love of the truth. Undoubteclly this also reflects Augustine's
own passion for the truth. This great love of Augustine for the truth
makes it clifficult to reconcile his position with any aclherence at an)'
time to the position taken by the Academics.
At the conc1usion of this exhortation to Romanianus to embrace philosophy, Augustine cautions hi111 not to accept as certain anything which
cannot be known as truly as mathematical propositions 98 . Similarly
he is cal1tioned not to despair of discoveringthetruth, and he is admonished
that such knowledge will be even more manifest than that oi numbers.
The Scriptural injunction in this context seems to imply that by philosophy and truth Augustine means here Christian truth and philosophy.
The conc1usion of this exhortation as well as the dialogue as a whole
seems to reilect then a proselytizing note on the part oi Augustine. It
shows a concern not merely to refute scepticism to his own satisfaction
and to make his own position c1ear but to win over one of his c10sest
friends.
After a further summar}' discl1ssion of the arguments of the Academics,
Augustine appears to indicate that he had accepted rather explicitly
the Academic doctrine 99 . Fr. Kavanagh translates this passage :
And do you not know tho.t as yet 1 have nothing which 1 Can rego.rcl
as certain, but tho.t, on account of t11e o.rguments o.nd clisputo.tions
of t11e _4..co.clemics, 1 am hinderecl from searching for it ?... ' ""

96. Op. Cit., p. q2, note 2.

97 . n. A. 4, p. 7498. [bid.
99. Tune ergo nescis. nihil lue certtull adhuc habere quod sentia111, sed ab ea
quaerendo _'1.CadenlicorU111 :lrgulllentis atqt1e c1isputationibus impec1iri ? (lln:d .. , p. 9R).
IDO . Op. cil., p. r57.

AUGUSTINE AND THE ACAD EMICS

9I

Fr. Kavanagh correctly observes that the phrase " as yet " lllay mean
" up to the present moment in m}' life, or it may mean up to the present
moment in the debate ", And he argues that the donbt e:s:pressed is
methoclieal rather than real whieh woulcl be in eonforrnity with the
generally acceptecl opil1ion that Augustine was a Christian at this time
and not an Aeademie101 ,
The c10sing sentenee of this ehapter " Nam ignoratio veri, aut mihi,
sil illi fingebant, peeuliaris est, aut certe utrisque eornmunis " 102, raises
a point that is pursued by Augustine more fully in Book IIIl03, The
point is that the Aeademies were not sincere in their pretenclecl seepticism
ancl that they ehose such names as " truth-likeness " (" verisimile ")
ancl" probable" (" probabile ") to coneeal the truth from others 104 ,
As
Augustine states the issue :
l,

Itaque reponde, quaeso, utrulll tibi videantur Acndemici habuisse

certam de veritate sententialll, et ealll temere ignotis vel non purgatis
anilllis prodere noluisse ; an vero ita senserint, ut eorum dispntationes
se habent, "' ,'
No clefinite answer is given to this question in Book II" but in Book III,
Augustine presents a more cletailecl account of this problem, the analysis
of whieh has an important bearing upon his relations with the Acaclemics,
=1:

* *
Turning to Book III. of the Contra Academicos our major concern will
be the attitucle of Augustil1e towarcl the Academics rather than any
extensive analysis of the arguments he uses in refuting their position.
Augustine's attitucle seems to be c1early ambivalent, At times he is
sharply derisive ancl derogative of the Academics. He observes that
they have achieved only a second rate standing in relation to all other
phi1osophers, and that their so-eallecl wiscloll1 is little better than ignorance
for they are never able to take a clefinite position on any issue anc1 are
ineapable of learl1ing anything106 ,
Of the arguments used in the refutatiol1 of the Acaclemics, one of the
more significant is that based 011 the e:ristence of clialectical truths. In
particular Augustine appeals to the truths of clisjunetive propositions
anc1 their eertitucle107 . Sueh certitucle is similar to that which can be

,,,.

ro r. bid., note 5,
T02. R. A. 4, p . roo.
T03. l bid. , pp. 19-198,
10-+. bid., p. 10-+ . See [11S0 CrCERo, .-leudeNl . 2 . 10.32.
ros R, A. 4, p. rlO,
106. /b id., pp. L0-q4- Cf. CICERO, Acad. r. fr. 20 (:IIller),
r07 , lb'id" p. 170, TlJe sonrce for tlJese nrgnl1lellts is t be f()und in CrcERo

De Aen,elem. 2,94f,

JOHN A. MOURANT

92

discovered in mathematical propositions and which Augustine had remarked upon earlier108

The rejection of the Academic position reaches its highest pitch

in

chapter fifteen in which Augustine develops the consequences of the

doctrine of the " probable" as it is applied to the field oi moral judgments.
The very intensity of Augustine's attack upon the Academics at this
point can only be accounted for on the assumption that he has accepted
Christianity and that his criticism is directed from this position. Even
so his emotions seem to be somewhat mixed :
Ttml yero tamomulta mihi et tam capitalia LTl istos venerunt in
mentem, ut iam non riderem, sed partim stomacharer, partim dolerem
homines doctissimos et acutissimos in tanta scelera sententiartum et
flagitia devolutos. lOO

A little later the attack upon the Academics mounts in its intensity .
The doctrines of the Academics are ridiculous y et entail the most serious
consequences :
111ud est capitale, illud formidolosum, illud optimo cuique metuendum, quod nefas omne, si haec ratio probabilis erit, cum probabile
cuiquam visum fuerit esse faciendum, tantum nulli quasi yero assentiatur, non solum sine sceleris, sedetiam sine erroris vituperatione commitat. Quid ergo ? H aec illi non viderunt ? Tmo solertissime
prudentissimeque viderunt n.
Considering the significance and the centrality of the moral problem
for Augustine, and also his own guilt feelings in this respect, is it not
strange that had he ever embraced their doctrine he would not have
said so in very explicit terms? Certanly he showed no hesitancy in setting
down the absurdities and evils of the Manichean doctrine that he had
held for sorne nine years. Why then should he not have been consistent and
stated c1early his guilt in accepting the Academic doctrine ? The answer
can only be that he never adually adhered to the Academic cause and
was never converted to their position as he was to Manicheism and to
Christianity.
Furthermore, it would appear very likely that his own ambivalent
attitude tow ard the Academics kept him from embracing their doctrine.
In part this ambivalence stenuned from a certain loyalty he felt to Cicero
coupled with his OWll instinctive distrust o the Academic doctrine.
More significantly Augustine's attitude was no doubt dictated by his
difficulty in assessing the true position and motives of the Academics.
Quid igitur placuit tantis viris perpetuis et pertinacibus contentionibus agere, ne in quemquam cadere ved scient 4J. videretur ? Audite
roS. [bid_, p_ ,62_
bid:, pp. ISO, ISO.
TIO. bid., p. 186.

109_

AUGUSTINE AND THE ACADEMICS

93

iaxn paulo attentius non quid sciam, sed quid existimem : hoc enim ad
ultimum reservabam, ut explicarem, si possem, quale n:tihi videatur
esse totum Academicorum consilium. 1ll
Augustine's answer is that the Academics were crypto-Platonists.
That they possessed a secret doctrine and did not seriously believe that
which they taught public1y.
This notion of a secret doctrine imputed to Arcesilas does not seem
to be substantially founded .
It was apparently based upon certain
statements by Dioc1es of Cnidus which were adopted an d popularized
by Cicero and then by Sextus Empiricus. It was variously held that
Arcesilas merely assumed the position of a Skeptic to escape the criticisms
oi Zeno and the Stoics, to maintain the purity oi the P latonic teaching,
or that according to Sextus Empiricus " The Academics' scepticism was
merely a means of testing the fitness oi their pupils ior admittance to
their mysteries "112.
Whatever may be the validity of the historical sources and the explanations of this secret doctrine of the Academics, its importance for our
consideration hes in the fact that Augustine, whether he fully accepted
it or not, did take the time and the trouble to set it down in some detail.
This would seem to reflect either his acceptance of the doctrine or his
ambivalent attitude toward the Academics. Certain points can be
singled out in hisaccount of the development of this doctrine that will
justify our contention.
In his brief history of the Platonic Academy he observes particular1y
the relation of Zeno the founder of the Stoic school to the Platonic Academy. He expresses his belief that Zeno was held suspect by the .P1atonists for the pernicious doctrine he taught :
Quamobrem cum Zeno sua quadam de mundo, etma.-'<ime de anima,
propter quam vera philosophia vigilat, sententia delectaretur,
clicens eam esse mortalem, nec quidquam esse praeter hunc sensibilem
mundum, nihilque in eo agi, nisi corpore (nam et Deum ipsum ignem
putabat) ... a3
His statement that Arcesilas wisely and deverIy concealed the doctrine
of the Academy and developed his own mode of disputation in order to
refute those who had too readi1y accepted such false doctrines 1l4 , undoubtedIy reflects his own fear of the danger of such teachings lls . He also
observes that the teachings of the New Academy originated in the need
to combat the views of Zeno, whereas the earlier Academics had no need
IIr. I bid., pp. 186, 18S.
II2. Quoted Iroln KAV ANAGH, Op. Cit., p. 21411.
II3. [bid ., p. 190. CI. Conf. 4. 15. 24 for Augustine's acceptance 01 a similar
view.
114 E. A., 4, p. 190.
lIS. Even in the periad il1lluecliately after his conversion Augustine was \vrestling
with philosophical solutions to the problems 01 the nature 01 the sonl and 01 God.

94

jOHN A. MO URAN T

of such teachillgS. Similarly, we have argued, that Augustine needed

and usecl the teachings of the Academics to combat the views of the
l\:Ianicheans on the nature of the soul and oi Gocl.
Pursing further his historical account Augustine notes that Chrysippus
continuecl the work of Zeno but that the spread of this doctrine met with
the opposition oi Carne acles who reiuted it so Illasterfully that Augustine
was surprised that it could have any further acceptance. Ancl he adds
that Carneades avoided the disrepute that had fallen upon Arcesilas
becanse of rus method of disputation.
Namque Carneades primo illam velut calunmialldi irupudel1tiam,
qua videbat Archesilam non mecliocriter infamatulll, deposuit, ne
contra Olnnia velle dicere quasi ostentationis causa videretur, sed
ipsos proprie sibi Stoicos, atque Chrysippum cOllyellendos evertendosque proposuit. '"
So far the importance of this account of the Academics by Augustine
lies in the fact that it appears to establish at the very least his ambivalent
attitude toward the Academics and thus goes far to justify our thesis
that Augnstine was not con verted to the Academic canse. For this
account reveals a very fundamental and clifferent motive for Augustine's
willingness to accept the Acaclemic position. He may be said to agree
with the Academics, not because he is a sceptic or has been converted
to the principIes of scepticism, but rather becanse the Acaclemics are not
truly sceptics themselves. Instead the Academics use the sceptical
method to attack and refute a doctrine of materialism wruch Augustine
rumself had come to despise with his break from the Manicheans. If
this is one acceptable version of the Academic phi1osophy, or at least
a version in which Augustine believed for a time, then it would account
for his ready acceptance of it as a means of liberating himself from tlie
Manicheans. On trus interpretation it is easy to understand the admiration he seems to express for Carneadesll 7 .
The Academics, thel1, constitute a formidable ally in the reiutation oi
materialismllS and with it of the Manicheans. Actually, the Academics
contributed to Augustine's ultimate conyersion to Christianity rather
than standing in the way of his conyersion.
In addition a paralle1 may be suggested regarding the relation of Augnstine to the Manicheans and the alleged esotericism of the AcadeIllcs. It
can be argued that Augustine's ultimate rejection of the Manicheans
lay in their refusal or inability to answer rus questions, to reyeal to him
those truths they daimecl were held in secret b y the electo And Augustine
II6. lbid., p . "92.
..
II7. lbid., pp. 192, 19-+. See also t h e letter to H .rmo;oll"""s (386) f.or furtllcr
references to the genills :.lutl the lenrllil1g of Cnrne:ules.
IIS. _U the close of chapter "7 _-\.llgllstiue observes tl",t the r""l purpose of C"rneades was to o,-erthrow and destro)' the S toics aud Chrysi ppus (" sed ipsos proprie
sibi Stoicos, atqlle Chrysipp"lU cOllvellendos evertelldosque propos)lit ").

AUGUSTINE AND TrIE ACAlJElllICS

')5

soon founcl himself in a similar position vis

vis the Acaclemics. For
supposing that the Academics held a secret doctrine, it was not revealed
to Augustine . Once more his position is that of an auditor rather than
one of the electo However, the deception in each case (if it was a cleception by the Academics) was soon discerned by Augustine and does much
to acconnt for the vigor and even rancor at time of his criticism of both
sects. On the other hand, assuming that the Academics did not holcl
a secret doctrine and that Augustine knew this, then their scepticism
contributecl to that intellectual despair Augustine felt of ever attaining
the truth at that time when he realizecl he could no longer accept the
alleged truths of Manicheism.

* **
After weighing all these alternative interpretations of Augustine's
attitucle towarc1 the Acac1emics, 1 think his statement toward the close
f the dialogue sufficiently re-affirms the ambivalence of his attituc1e and
also his conviction that the truth can be found llB
Thus to the extent that the Academics acceptecl 01' claimecl a knowledge
of the truth (Platonism) they tendec1 to escape Augustine's direct criticismo
On the assumptioll that they helcl no secret doctrine they are subject
to his bitterest criticismo In any event his basic difference with them
is that although they might claim to know truth, they resort to dialectic
to show that it cannot be attained. Such a sceptical position, we have
argued, could not have been maintainec1 by Augustine. Although he
was disturbed at times by their arguments and detened from the pursuit
of human wisdom, now, in the year of his conversion he feels that in the
present disputation he has sufficiently protected himself against the
reasouillgs of the Academics . The . conclusioll of the long debate with
the Academics reveals quite clear1y that this dialogue has been cOllductec1
within the context of Augustine's Christian faith.
Nulli autem dubiwn est gemino pondere 110S impelJi ad cliscendulll.
auctoritatis atque rationis. Mihi autem certum est nuscuam prorsus
a Christi auctoritate disceclere : non enim reperio yalentiorem. ''''
Since this was the state of mind and the position of Augustine in his
thirty third year, it is clear that at this time he was neither an Acaclemic
nor a Platonist, although phi1osophically he might be best c1escribec1 as a
Neo-Platonic Christian. In view of our contention that his lVIanicheisl1l
was far more persistent than is usually acceptec1, the major cloubts of

IIg. Ibid ., pp. Ig8, 200.

Note that this ambivalellce 01 Augustine toward the
Acadelllics is expressecl in the different titles he gave to this dialogue. Iu the
Retractationes he refers to it as " con'ra Ac(ulcJlcos " or" de ...i.ca.demicis
(R. A. t:2.
P274)
I20. 1 bid., p. 200.
1>

96

JOHN A. NIO UR ANT

Augustine were directed against their doctrine, and especially their

materialism, rather than to any acceptance o the Academic position.
The attraction o the Academics lay in their disputed " secret doctrine"
or Platonism, their opposition to philosoprucal materialism, their presentation b y Cicero and the influence of Cicero u pon Augustine,
and their dialectical skill which undoubtedly had a strong appeal for
Augustine. To be attracted, however, is not to be convinced or persuadedo Augustine we believe was never convinced of the tmth of the Academic position. Not merely for the various reasons we have outlined,
but also because of his own difficulty in assessing and determining the
true position of the Academics.
John A.

lVIOURANT.

P ennsylvania State University