| Nov. 10th, 2008 @ 01:43 pm um... yeah. |
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Current Mood:  tired
So... officially a college girl. I've made through over half of my first semester in college. i love it, by the way. Eastern officially rocks. My classes are cool. I'm midway through writing a paper on Augustine's Confessions for my Western Civ class with Dr. Yonan. It's turning out... okay. I shall post a section for your perusal:
Following his primary school education, Augustine received advanced training in the rhetoric. Through his extensive education, he learned how to write and speak well. This education in speaking was not his own choice, however. Rather, it was forced upon him by his parents with the belief that it would make him successful.
“Thus I learnt to convey what I meant to those about me; and so took another step along the stormy way of human life in society, while I was still subject to the authority of my parents and at the beck and call of my elders” (Confessions I, ch. VIII).
Later on in life, Augustine regretted learning to speak well for the corrupted purpose the rhetoric offered. Instead of glorifying God, the rhetoric was meant to glory the person speaking and demonstrate their profound intelligence, logic, and eloquence. Before his conversion, Augustine was a teacher of rhetoric, a career that took him far across the Roman Empire. He struggled to find an acceptable teaching position. After growing vexed with the behavior of his students, Augustine moved to Rome and eventually Milan in order to find a suitable place to teach. It was in Milan that Augustine was converted. In Milan, he was able to spend time both with his friend Alypius and the bishop Ambrose. Both of these men were critical in Augustine’s conversion and subsequent baptism. Upon his conversion, Augustine gave up his teaching position because of his belief that the teachings were “lying follies and the conflicts of the law” (Confessions IX, ch. II). His retirement from teaching enabled him to dedicate more time to reading and writing for the work of God. His earlier education in rhetoric influenced the way he approached both how he wrote and spoke. All of his arguments were approached logically, eloquently, and presented in a way that allowed people to understand what he was saying. |
dorky
depressed