Essay on Augustine’s confessions
Aurelius Sanctus Augustinus is one of the significant thinkers and fathers of the Catholic Church who was also canonized by it. Augustine has made many confessions during his lifetime, and one of these confessions is about the right and true use of food.
Augustine, being honest with himself, admitted that food and pleasure are two tightly connected concepts in his mind, but exactly God has taught him that food is more medicine than pleasure for human body. Of course, the right and true use of food includes specific steps because many products are necessary for people to maintain their health, but not to become dependant on them. The main distinction between health and pleasure, according to Augustine, can be finding in the essence of these concepts. Health is the main necessity of human organism, and it is also the reason why all people needs foods, but pleasure is a kind of temptation, which has no limits and borders. In such a way, remembering the sins of his youth, such as the sin of gluttony, Augustine said that it was a great pleasure for him to eat much more than he needed at that moment. Human appetite can be a bad instrument in the hands of pleasure, the instrument which acts in the needs of bodily desire. As a result, realizing all his previous sins (and the sin of gluttony is among them), Augustine teaches people that strong will is always able to overcome the nature of bodily desire, helping the person to reorganize the own thoughts and the whole life for the purpose to live in virtuous way of life.
In conclusion, I have observed Augustine’s thoughts about the true use of food, and realized that Augustine was right in his confession. As for me it is hard to ignore all the temptation of delicious food, but maybe, having a strong will, it would be possible for everyone. To add, I think that Augustine’s life is not for me right now because I didn’t achieve even a little part of his enlightenment, but everything is changing in our life, and only perfection is limitless. Thus, everything is in my hands, and my future attitude to food depends only on my wish to overcome the sin of gluttony.
