God, memory and beauty: A Manichaean analysis of Augustine’s <i>Confessions</i>, Book X

Abstract

The article first sketches some main trends in the recent study of Augustine’s Confessions as a work aimed at Manichaean readers. It then detects and analyses the Manichaean-inspired parts in Book X of the Confessions. Augustine’s famous theory of memory seems to be directly inspired by Manichaean concepts such as found in the Coptic Manichaean Kephalaia. The article end with a number of conclusions.

Keywords

• Augustine
• Manichaeism
• God
• Memory
• Beauty
• Confessions
• Confessions Book X
• Manichaean Kephalaia