A box of Latin manuscripts comes to light in an Argentine flea market. An apocryphal invention by some 17th or 18th century scholar, or a transcript of what it appears to be - a hitherto unheard of letter to St. Augustine from a woman he renounced for chastity? Vita Brevis is both an entrancing human document and a fascinating insight into the life and philosophy of St. Augustine. Gaarder's interpretation of Floria's letter is as playful, inventive and questioning as Sophie's World.
Jostein Gaarder is a Norwegian intellectual and author of several novels, short stories, and children's books. Gaarder often writes from the perspective of children, exploring their sense of wonder about the world. He often uses meta-fiction in his works, writing stories within stories.
Gaarder was born into a pedagogical family. His best known work is the novel Sophie's World, subtitled "A Novel about the History of Philosophy." This popular work has been translated into fifty-three languages; there are over thirty million copies in print, with three million copies sold in Germany alone.
In 1997, he established the Sophie Prize together with his wife Siri Dannevig. This prize is an international environment and development prize (USD 100,000 = 77,000 鈧�), awarded annually. It is named after the novel.
鈥嶸ita Brevis: a Letter to st. Augustine = Brief Life = That Same Flower, Jostein Gaarder
Vita Brevis: A Letter to St Augustine is a novel written by the Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder and originally published in 1996.
Gaarder presents the text as written by Saint Augustine麓s lover (who is mentioned, but not named, in his Confessions).
In the introduction, Gaarder claims that he found the old manuscript at a bookshop in Buenos Aires and translated it. According to his plotline, it was written by Floria Aemilia, Augustine's concubine, who after being abandoned by him, got a thorough Classical education, read his Confessions (where she is mentioned but not named, unlike their son, Adeodatus) and felt compelled to write this text as an answer.
I re-read this yet again for about the third or fourth time - it's an easy book to keep coming back to - especially as I've read it at very different times in my life.
It's hard to comment without really knowing for certain whether this is Gaarder's creation (which I continue to believe it to be) or actually a discovered text (which is possible) - however it certainly raises interesting rhetorical points in response to St Augustine's "Confessions."
I chose to re-read this as I have recently read Alain de Botton's "How to think more about sex" and I realised that "Vita Brevis" actually fulfils an important gap in the philosophy of sex (or at least, of physical companionship, of which sex is just one part) that I didn't felt met by de Botton.
I'm looking forward to revisiting it yet again. And again. And again.
鈥�.. exist膬 un Dumnezeu care ne cunoa葯te pe amandoi. Dac膬 e a葯a, sunt c芒t se poate de sigur膬 ca a pus la p膬strare toat膬 bun膬tatea pe care ne-am daruit-o amandoi".
"葰ine-m膬 aproape de tine. Via葲a este atat de scurt膬 si nu suntem siguri ca exista eternitate pentru sufletele noastre at芒t de fragile.鈥�
This book (or letter) was quite beautiful in its sadness. Floria's response to Saint Augustine's abandonment of her was incredibly powerful and timeless. This ancient feminist manifesto is a must read to see how far we have come and still how far we have to go as women. Ultimately, very moving indeed.
Praktisnya memang bisa dibilang buku ini bukanlah karya Jostein Gaarder, tapi dia hanya menerjemahkan surat panjang yang ia temukan pada sebuah pameran buku di Buenos Aires, Argentina pada 1995. Surat yang konon dibuat pada abad ke-5 ini berisi tanggapan seorang perempuan bernama Floria kepada kekasihnya yaitu Aurel (Santo Agustinus, salah seorang Bapak Gereja yang berpengaruh hingga kini) atas buku Pengakuan (Confessiones) yang ditulis Santo Agustinus.
Dan inilah cuplikan surat Floria yang menggambarkan pemikirannya yang kritis-brilian-dahsyat itu:
Kau menjauhkan aku karena kau terlalu mencintaiku, katamu. Wajar, tentu saja, untuk bertahan di sisi pasangan yang dicintai. Tetapi kau melakukan kebalikannya, karena kau sudah mulai menganggap remeh perasaan cinta antara laki-laki dan perempuan. Kau berpikir bahwa aku membelenggumu kepada dunia panca indra, tanpa menyisakan kedamaian dan kesunyian yang dapat membuatmu berkonsentrasi pada keselamatan jiwamu...Tuhan menginginkan di atas segalanya, agar manusia hidup dengan menahan nafsu, tulismu. Aku tidak percaya pada Tuhan yang demikian (h. 16-17)
Bukankah benar-benar tidak setia menelantarkan seseorang yang dicintai demi keselamatan jiwa sendiri? Bukankah akan lebih mudah bagi seorang perempuan untuk menanggung kenyataan bahwa seorang laki-laki meninggalkannya karena ia ingin menikah鈥攁tau dalam hal ini, bila ia menginginkan perempuan lain? TetapI tidak ada perempuan lain dalam hidupmu. Kau hanya lebih mencintai jiwamu sendiri daripada diriku. Jiwamu sendiri, Aurel, itulah yang ingin kau selamatkan, jiwa yang pernah kau temukan di dalam diriku. (h. 18)
Aku harus menemukan apa yang dikatakan ajaran-ajaran filsafat tentang hal-hal yang memisahkan pasangan yang saling mencinta. Kalau kau telah tertarik pada perempuan lain, aku mungkin saja ingin bertemu dengannya. Tetapi sainganku bukanlah perempuan yang dapat kulihat dengan mata telanjang, ia adalah sebuah prinsip filsafat. Maka, agar aku dapat mengerti dirimu dengan lebih baik, paling tidak aku harus berada pada jalan yang sama dengan yang telah kau tempuh. Aku harus membaca ajaran-ajaran filsafat鈥�Sainganku bukan hanya sainganku sendiri. Ia adalah saingan semua perempuan, ia adalah malaikat maut bagi cinta itu sendiri. Kau menyebutnya sebagai Pengendalian Diri. (h. 21-22)
Jika orang-orang bodoh ingin menghindar dari perbuatan yang salah, mereka biasanya malah melakukan hal yang sebaliknya (Horace, h. 23)
Ada satu hal khusus yang aku sukai dalam nasihat Cicero: ia memacuku untuk tidak mencari arah filosofis tertentu, melainkan untuk mencintai dan mencari serta memenangkan kebenaran itu sendiri鈥an kebenaran, Aurel, adalah hal yang telah mendorongku membaca tentang filsuf dan pujangga-pujangga terkenal. Sejak kita berpisah, aku telah mencurahkan seluruh hidupku untuk kebenaran鈥攕ama seperti kau dulu pergi untuk mencurahkan dirimu berkonsentrasi pada Pengendalian Diri. Aku masih mengasihimu, walapun harus kukatakan bahwa saat ini aku masih lebih mengasihi kebenaran (h. 23)
Kau merujuk pada kata-kata Paulus bahwa 鈥渂aik bagi seorang laki-laki untuk tidak menyentuh seorang perempuan鈥�. Dan Aurel sayang, mengapa kau hanya menuliskan ayat ini? Tidakkah kau belajar di sekolah retorika tentang bahayanya memisahkan sebuah kalimat dari konteksnya? (h. 39)
Aku ingat saat kita duduk di bawah sebuah pohon Ara. Sambil mengerdip pada matahari, aku memandangmu. Aku pasti melakukannya dengan cara yang begitu memikat, karena kau menahan tatapanku sambil memandang turun ke tanah dengan ragu sekali atau dua kali sebelum kau menatapku kembali. Rasanya nyaris seperti kita pernah hidup bersama. Aku langsung menyadari bahwa aku dapat mencintaimu dengan sepenuh hati dan jiwa. ..Kemudian kita berbicara tentang kehidupan dan cinta secara umum. Aku sepertinya ingat betapa kau sangat terkejut melihatku dengan begitu santai membela tindakan Dido yang memperjuangkan cinta. Seakan-akan kau bertanya padaku dengan tatapanmu, apakah seorang perempuan dapat benar-benar mencintai seorang laki-laki sehingga ia akan mengorbankan nyawanya sendiri bila ia dikhianati. (h. 45- 46)
Kau tidak menyembunyikan betapa dalam dan kuatnya kau membenci Venus. Dia, Aurel, adalah jembatan permata yang menghubungkan jiwa kita yang kesepian dan penuh ketakutan. Tetapi bukan itu saja. Kini kau juga membenci segala kesenangan seksual. Dan lebih lagi, kau tak henti menghina panca indra itu sendiri. Sungguh, kau telah berubah menjadi seorang kasim!
Saat ini kau memandang rendah segala indra serta semua buah dan minuman anggur yang mereka tawarkan pada jiwa kita. Tetapi bukan itu saja. Kau mulai membual kepada Tuhan tentang betapa kini kau sadar telahmemandang rendah seluruh ciptaan-Nya. Kau melakukan ini, katamu, karena kau melihat 鈥渃ahaya鈥� dengan mata hatimu.
Kulihat kau telahkehilangan arah hidupmu di tengah-tengah para teolog. Pekerjaan yang sangat menyedihkan! Bagaimana mungkin yang kecil memimpin yang besar? Bagaimana mungkin sebuah ciptaan mendefinisikan penciptanya? Juga, bagaimana mungkin sebuah ciptaan dapat menentukan bahwa dirinya akan berhenti berfungsi sebagai sebuah ciptaan?
Kita adalah manusia hasil ciptaan, Aurel. Dan kita diciptakan sebagai laki-laki dan perempuan. Kita tidak boleh berusaha untuk hidup sebagai sesuatu kecuali sebagai diri kita sendiri. Bukankah dengan demikian kita mengejek Tuhan? Kita adalah manusia, Aurel. Pertama-tama kita harus hidup, kemudian鈥攜a鈥攌emudian kita bisa berfilsafat.
Apakah aku tidak lebih dari tubuh seorang perempuan bagimu? Kau tahu bahwa hal itu tidak benar. Dan bagaimana pula kau dapat membedakan tubuh dengan jiwa? Bukankah dengan demikian kau berusaha mengacaukan proses penciptaan yang telah dilakukan Tuhan? Oh ya, tentu saja, macanku yang tak beriman. Ketika kau mencengkeramku dengan belaianmu yang tajam, kau juga mencabik jiwaku. (h. 51-53)
Masihkah kau dapat mengingat bagaimana kau bercinta denganku dan seolah-olah mengeratkan tiap kuncup sebelum ia terbuka? Betapa kau menikmati diriku di dalam dirimu! Bagaimana kau membiarkan dirimu diracuni oleh wewangianku! Bagaimana kau menyantap sari-sariku! Dan kemudian kau pergi dan menjualku, demi keselamatan jiwamu. Betapa tidak setia, Aurel, kau seharusnya merasa bersalah! Tidak, aku tidak percaya pada Tuhan yang menuntut korban manusia. Aku tidak percaya pada Tuhan yang menyia-nyiakan hidup seorang perempuan demi menyelamatkan nyawa seorang laki-laki. (h. 59)
Hidup sangatlah singkat, dan kita tak pernah benar-benar yakin akan adanya keabadian bagi jiwa kita yang rapuh. Mungkin kehidupan inilah kehidupan kita satu-satunya. Kau tidak akan mau mempercayai itu, Aurel. Kau akan mengobrak-abrik otakmu hingga kau menemukan keabadian bagi jiwamu sepertinya lebih penting bagimu untuk menyelamatkan jiwamu dari hukuman abadi, ketimbang untuk menyelamatkan hubungan kita. (h. 68)
Bagaimana bila ternyata tidak ada surga di atas sana, Aurel? Bayangkan bahwa hanya untuk hidup inilah kita diciptakan! (h.80) Hidup ini singkat, terlalu singkat. Namun mungkin hanya kini dan di sinilah kita hidup. ..Kita tidak hidup selamanya, Aurel. Tapi itu tidak berarti bahwa kita harus membuat hari-hari yang telah diberikan kepada kita menjadi hampa. (h. 102)
Hidup begitu singkat, kita tidak punya waktu untuk menghakimi dan mengutuk cinta. Pertama-tama kita harus hidup, Aurel, kemudian baru kita bisa berfilsafat. (h. 121)
Keluarlah, Aurel! Keluar dan berbaringlah di bawah pohon ara. Gunakanlah indra-indramu鈥攇unakan untuk terakhir kalinya. Demi aku, Aurel, dan untuk segala yang pernah kita miliki bersama. Bernapaslah, dengarkanlah nyanyian-nyanyian burung, pandanglah kubah di langit dan hiruplah segala wewangian untukmu sendiri. Inilah dunia, Aurel, dan ia hadir di sini saat ini. Di sini, dan sekarang. Kau pernah terjebak ke dalam labirin para teolog dan para penganut Plato. Kini tidak lagi. Sekarang kau telah kembali ke dunia, ke tempat tinggal manusia. (h. 146)
Dan pada akhirnya memang kita tidak sekadar bicara tentang tanah, air dan udara, tapi kita juga berbincang tentang manusia, bumi manusia dengan segala persoalannya.
Kenapa selama ini orang praktis terlupa akan burung gereja, daun asam, harum tanah: benda-benda nyata yang, meskipun sepele, memberi getar pada hidup dengan tanpa cincong? Tidakkah itu juga sederet rahmat, sebuah bahan yang sah untuk percakapan, untuk pemikiran, untuk puisi鈥攕eperti kenyatan tentang cinta dan mati? (Goenawan Mohamad, Caping 2,h. 72)
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ripiu singkatnya kurang lebih begini:
buku ini hampir semua kalimatnya pingin saya kutip karna dahsyat kata2nya, menohok, menelanjangi, membongkar, menggeledah sejumlah aspek penting keimanan, filsafat, teologi, tuhan, sufi, cinta, indrawi, jasmani, rohani, dst..haha..:D mangstaabb lah rangkaian kata2nya memukau sampai akhir:)
buat sebagian orang mungkin tema2 itu termasuk berat, tapi buku ini memaparkannya dalam bentuk surat yang cukup mudah dicerna orang awam. percayalah..haha:D
*** keren sekaleh buku ini komentar dan kutipan segera menyusul kalo inget;p
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baru ampe setengah buku dlm sekali baca..udah terasa ini buku keren banged isinya, terjemahannya juga okeh, enak bacanya..
The idea of this book is so seductive, along the lines of Yourcenor's "Hadrian's Memoirs', of bringing to life history with a glimpse into the thoughts and private life of a 4th century woman. It seems to me somehow that the ideas she espouses are thoroughly modern however much I agree with them - I wonder if her arguments could conceivably have been argued by one of her situation and epoch. I am not particularly familiar with the era but enjoyed the glimpse of the cusp between the classical and the medieval - the author seems more classical in her thinking whilst Augustine, with his extreme hatred of the flesh and the 'impermanent' seems to embrace the coming dark ages where the church held sway over the minds of men in such a limiting and impermeable fog for so long. All in all a very enjoyable read - with quotations of classical authors and philosophers brought to life. There's something about philosophy and mythology used in this way that makes it a living breathing thing.
VITA BREVIS (1996) (translated into English as Vita Brevis: A letter to St. Augustine) is a strange little novel. The author, Jostein Gaarder, claims that he came across a box of Latin manuscripts in an Argentine flea market (Argentina, of all places!). He had traveled to Argentina for business reasons in 1995 and decided to spend some free time in San Telmo, a renowned flea market in Buenos Aires. He found these astounding documents: they could be an apocryphal invention by some 17th or 18th century scholar, or they could be a transcript of what it appears to be - a hitherto unheard of letter to St. Augustine from Floria Aemilia, his former concubine and mother of his child, who Augustine abandoned for chastity's sake.
St. Augustine is, in many respects, the most important theologian in the Christian tradition. In his Confessions, he describes himself as a sinner, remarkable for his transgressions. Then he had a conversion experience, a major turning point in his life. His Confessions tell us his story to show us a path from original sin towards sanctification and towards God's grace.
Floria had been his lover for several years. She was a bright, intellectual woman who met Augustine when they were both pupils in a school of rhetoric in Carthage. They became lovers in 372 and their son Adeodatus was born in 373. When he was a professor of rhetoric in Milan, his mother, a rather unscrupulous and cunning lady, persuades Augustine to marry a rich Milanese heiress. Augustine, always eager to please his mom, abandons poor Floria and is engaged to the heiress. He never marries the heiress, though. He will reject lust and sin after his conversion. The Confessions were written between 397-398.
Floria's letter was written, allegedly, right after her reading his Confessions, the most important text written by Augustine, who was then the Bishop of Hippo. Floria criticizes Augustine for abandoning her for God, for rejecting a true, human love in exchange for a love of the divine, an uncertain kind of love. She defends sensuality and criticizes furiously religious repression of passions and human feelings. Sounds rather modern, doesn't it?
Gaarder says he consulted the Vatican Library and they told him this letter never existed. Naturally, what else could he expect from the Catholic Church?
I don't know if the story of the found manuscripts is true, to me it sounds like a rather farfetched idea. If it is true, I believe these documents must be an apocryphal invention written by some scholar. Floria, or rather, the author of this letter, seems to be missing the point of Augustine's Confessions. Augustine is putting together his Confessions to outline his theory of the Christian sense of the self. This book is historically important because Augustine is defining new standards by which to identify the self, he is laying the foundations for the Middle Ages, for the next 1000 years. The Confessions is not a book about his rejection of love, or lust, or sin. Of the 13 books of the Confessions, only one of them deals with his sins. Augustine narrates not his life but the concerns of his soul. I suspect the real Floria would have understood this, she was Augustine's peer, she understood theology and philosophy. She could quote Cicero and Horace. However, this letter seems written by an enraged, jealous woman over a romantic problem.
This is Gaarder's first novel written for an adult readership. His interest in philosophical issues is present as always but for me this novel is not even satisfying as fiction.
I haven't read Augustine of Hippo's Confessions and I am not sure that I might do it in the nearer future in order to write a fairer review of Gaardner Vita Brevis, regardless of its inventive wiseness of bringing about a series of letters written by the unnamed concumbine of the saint, in here given the name Fl贸ria Em铆lia. Yet, it is clear that its goal is to confront eros and philia in the face of agape. The former, human, thus dispensable; the latter, heavenly necessary).
Notwithstanding Augustine's thesis to the benefit of the Christian church, the truth is that as many other doctors of the church, they are holier-than-thou to a point that most probably even Jesus Christ would be considered a sinner in their visions of sanctitude. Augustine's thesis on the original sin is a great disservice to the position of women in most Christian societies through the centuries, whereas, why not see both Adam and Eve picking the fruit of the tree of wisdom together? Blaming someone else for our own errors is much easier, not? And if it were for Eve to have picked it alone, why then men condemned women to a life without knowledge, without wisdom? At the same time the Church sanctifies women as mothers, thus closer to Our Lady, the mother of Jesus, it proclaims the female sex is not able to achieve many statuses only given to men. There is also the contestation of the body as a sinful work of God, male or female. If God created beings, it created them for a reason. Everything that turns out to be excessive is bad. And Augustine's biggest mistake seems to have been one to blame on other what he thought as his own errors or sins. This is what Fl贸ria most claims about in her long and interesting letters to Augustine. And in this, Gaardene provided us with such interesting work.
Implicit in the book is also the fact that the search for sanctitude for its own sake is the worst of the seven deadly sins: superbia (pride).
Okudu臒um en nadide eserlerden birisi. "Felsefe ve a艧k谋n bir araya gelmesiyle nas谋l bir bak谋艧 a莽谋s谋 olu艧ur, bir kad谋n bunu nas谋l aktar谋r"谋 g枚rmek harikayd谋. Bu kadar eski bir eserin sanki bizim 莽a臒谋m谋zdaki bir kad谋n konu艧uyormu艧 gibi olmas谋 harika. K谋y谋da k枚艧ede kalm谋艧 olabilir, k枚艧esine gidip bulunuz ve okuyunuz. Ben de tekrar okumay谋 umuyorum.
艩turo i neinformativno pismo Florije Emilije biv拧e dru啪benice 膷oveka koji je postao Sveti Augustin. Tekst se oslanja na citate iz Augutinovih Confesija, dela poznatog u filozofskom svetu kao autobiografija ali i meditacija o 啪ivotu, odricanju, religiji i vremenu. Gaarder kopira ponekad i po pola stranice iz Confesija potom komentari拧u膰i izkopirani deo u par re膷enica. Lik Florije je neobi膷an utoliko 拧to je ona postala u膷ena 啪ena u to vreme, ali to je bio neophodni preduslov pri膷e da bi autor kroz nju mogao da izka啪e svoje filozofske misli. Sve u svemu, ve啪ba u selektivnom 膷itanju jednog dela iz odre膽ene perspektive鈥攑ro膰erdan potencijal za mnogo dublju analizu.
This book has more than one title. The version I read was titled That Same Flower. I'm wondering if it has one title in English, and another title for all other languages. I have recently written a book on the same topic as this book: the relationship between Saint Augustine and his beloved mistress (). So, when I found out about this earlier book, I was very eager to read it. Please indulge me: this review is long and consists mostly of comparing my book to Mr. Gaarder's. It is interesting to me to see how two different authors treat the same topic. One author is a seasoned novelist and former Philosophy professor (Gaarder). The other is a first-time novelist with only a BA鈥檚 worth of background in Philosophy and Church history (that would be me). First, the name of Augustine鈥檚 mistress has not come down to us through history. In his excellent biography of , Garry Wills names her Una. I named her Leona. Gaarder gives her the lovely name Floria. Since this is a review of Gaarder鈥檚 book, I will use the name Floria throughout this review. Gaarder鈥檚 book is written in a different style from mine. His is an epistolary novel, in the form of a letter from Floria to Augustine, upon the publication of his , many years after they have parted. My book is written as a traditional narrative novel with some elements of historical romance 鈥� although it is not a genre romance since we know from the outset that the boy and girl will not end up together happily ever after. It is not surprising, though, that both of us wrote in first person. Floria is a character who cries out for her own voice. Both of us gave her a very strong personality. Again, this isn鈥檛 surprising. History tells us almost nothing about her, but she surely must have been an extraordinary woman to have been beloved for many years by the great Augustine. I was pleased to find that Gaarder put her in an intellectual role with Augustine very similar to what I did: she is a critic. She has a sharp intellect of her own and frequently challenges him. Where the history is uncertain, Gaarder and I took Floria in slightly different directions. In the Confessions, Augustine claims that he put her aside, and Gaarder鈥檚 version of the story accepts this claim. For this reason, Floria鈥檚 tone in her letter is understandably somewhat bitter and regretful. I took the position that maybe Augustine was indulging in a little literary license. I had her end the relationship in my version of the story. I was struggling very hard to make sure she had agency. Since I was telling her story, I wanted her in charge of her fate as much as possible, so I took a little license there. In Gaarder鈥檚 letter, Floria is apparently not a Christian. This allows her to deliver a sharper criticism of the Confessions. Again, nobody knows, but the assumption of most historians is that Floria entered some version of a convent, which would imply that she accepted Christianity. I took her that route. I love the arguments that Gaarder gives to Floria. First, he has her argue strongly for the pleasures of this world, against Augustine鈥檚 severe late-life asceticism. Second, the letter is strongly feminist. She attacks the anti-woman position of the patriarchal Abrahamic religions, the identification of all women with Eve and sin. In one powerful scene from the letter, which I will not give away, she demonstrates the practical effects on both women and men of this notion that men鈥檚 sins are women鈥檚 fault. I similarly made Floria a feminist and more of a sensualist than Augustine, but because mine is a narrative novel, she makes her arguments more through her actions in my telling. Even once she joins the church, she is the kind of Christian who places priority on Christ鈥檚 command to 鈥渄o unto others,鈥� to live her faith rather than 鈥渨alk with the theologians鈥� as she criticizes Augustine for doing in Gaarder鈥檚 telling. It was an absolute delight for me to read this book, and to see how someone else, with more background and experience than I have, treated a subject about which I am very passionate.
You can find my review of by following this link to .
This book is presented like it's simply a translation of an antique manuscript discovered moldering in an antique shop. Rather in the way that Memoirs of a Geisha is presented as a true autobiography of a pre-war Kyoto geisha. However, in the latter case, we know for a fact that Arthur Golden was exercising his imagination (and his research talents). Jostein Gaarder refuses to confirm or deny whether he has done the same, leaving the decision to the reader.
I rather imagine that the tale of the missing Codex Floriae is invented, but I like to think it wasn't. Mostly because I like to think of the sanctimonious Saint Augustine being on the receiving end of such a wonderful epistle. I also wouldn't put it past the Vatican Library to swallow up such a document without a trace. However, I think Mr. Gaarder would have had more brains than to send it to them...
Either way, this short book is a wonderful amalgamation of philosophy, theology, romance and tragedy, all seamlessly blended together. A touching and thought-provoking read.
n茫o cheguei a ler as "Confiss玫es" de Aur茅lio Agostinho (o Santo Agostinho) e, honestamente, depois de ler este livro, nem fa莽o quest茫o... digamos que a autora da carta foi extremamente convincente e sapateou em cima da Verdade crist茫 que Agostinho defendia. a autora: Fl贸ria Em铆lia, mulher com quem Agostinho manteve uma rela莽茫o marital (e, ao que parece, muito intensa e apaixonada) durante 12 anos antes de se converter integralmente ao cristianismo e come莽ar a professar uns rol锚s a铆 de que at茅 deus duvidaria.
A "testimony" of the life of St. Augustine's companion, the one he dearly loved for many years and who bore him his son, but whom he abandoned for religion. A statement of love and of cherishing life, something the Saint seems to have forgotten.