Book One Summary and Analysis

After refuting his potential critics, Augustine starts the main body of the book and prefigures the next four books by dividing his subject matter in two - (i) understanding what one should learn from Scripture and (ii) understanding how to convey what one has learned. To learn what Scripture teaches, the student of Scripture must understand both "things" and "signs," a distinction that will be worked out throughout the first three books. Book I focuses on "things qua things." This means he will focus on things as things, since things can function as signs and vice versa.

Augustine argues that humans are things that can also "enjoy," love and "use" things. God should be enjoyed, but to enjoy Him, one's eyes must be "purged" and the individual should follow God's plan and healing. The book will focus on extrapolating...