St. Augustine’s Particulars and "Pieces" within Greater Unity: A Reading of Book 10 Anonymous College

The Confessions by Saint Augustine is a book composed of three main, extremely distinct sections. The first is a narrative-style part, telling of his life up to the point of writing The Confessions and confessing to his sins along the way. The second is Book 10, composed of a telling of finding God and summary of the sins which he faced. The third is a commentary on the Holy Scripture, Genesis 1-2:3. These seemingly-disconnected categories have a certain unity within them as a whole, bringing unity to the multiplicity of unique particulars. Book 10 contributes to this inter-book unity through shedding light on the particular elements of the narrative found in books one through eight. The theme of unity found in multiplicity continues through the relationship between these two sections. The narrative brings to light many individual anecdotes, prayers, falls, and joys, but they are all disconnected to some extent. Although they find connection in the passage of time within the narrative, they do not share a true unity until they are brought together with the writings of Book 10. The narrative and the particular pieces of Books one through eight are brought together into union with the rise of Book 10 through the emphasis of...