Book II Summary and Analysis

Augustine's struggles for self-development intensify as he reaches young manhood. He is sunk into sin and lustful behavior. This is the turning point in Augustine's narrative, since it sets up the conflict that will follow and must be resolved by him. Augustine goes from the mild sins of his boyhood to the sins of young manhood, of which the most prominent is lust. Augustine is in love with being in love, and at that point in his life, that means sexual love. He has no comprehension of the love of God or love of anything or anyone for disinterested reasons. Looking back, Augustine wishes that someone in his family would have arranged for him to be married so at least his lusts could have been limited to raising a family. Augustine's father and mother have ambitions for him to...