First and foremost, today is a good day. Why? Because I threw a piece of trash from across the room towards the garbage barrel, and it actually went in. In technical terms, we call that a swish or a swoosh. Success? I think so.
Also, because I think I like Augustine. I like his wild and crazy previous life, and I like how when he converted he just didn't forget about his former self. As Joan Didion says in On Keeping a Notebook, "I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be whether we find them attractive company or not." Indeed, and so it is with Augustine.
This is the first time I've written in my commonplace about the subject we just had a class conversation on, and I find I'm thinking about it in many different ways than usual. I'll take this opportunity to disagree with some points raised in class regarding the following passage: "That you consider yourself adorned and beautified, this is an insult to the divine work, a violation of truth." And later, "If you are beautiful, why do you hide it? If ugly, why do you pretend to be beautiful, enjoying neither peace in your own conscience, nor satisfaction in misleading others?"
I think it's easy to get caught up in thinking that all these guys hated women, and hold ourselves up upon some pedestal of feminist righteousness, but when we really look at the words of the text, I don't think he's saying women are bad. I think he's saying that you shouldn't mask the beauty God has given you with artificial means. His is a holy argument, not necessarily an aesthetic one: by putting makeup on you cheapen His works. I like thinking about things like that. I also like that if you're ugly, you aren't fooling anyone by painting yourself up. Call me judgemental, but when I see an ugly person with tons of makeup on trying to hide it, I mentally call her out. Does this make me a bad person? Probably, but I can't help what I think (not even think, really: these are usually visceral reactions).
Anyway, that was pretty much a giant tangent about nothing but I felt that if I said it in class people would think that I hate women, which I don't, and they would attack me if I admitted I occasionally wear makeup, which I do. I've had about 100,000 crises of faith, but one thing I do like thinking about is each person as a work of art personally designed by God. You wouldn't try and put a little rouge on the Mona Lisa (hmm, but why not? I guess that's a different topic...I suppose it goes into the question of what art is, who makes art, and why art is "Art.").
Some things did confuse me though. Augustine seems a little militant when it comes to "winning" his audience. However you have to do it is fine, as long as in the end an audience has been won. In this case, the winning has everything to do with being on the "Good" side of things. It brings to mind Obi Wan Kenobi, and his pursuit of the good. He has to teach Luke to fight using the Force, and here, the "Force" might be understood as "rhetorical strategies." As a soldier for the good (a soldier for God, in Augustine's case), he's got to use everything he has, even if he has to use methods that can also be used for bad purposes (like Luke learning how to fight). I wonder if I could draw this Star Wars theme out longer? Probably not. But it certainly does call for an inspirational Obi Wan picture.
I think it's easy to get caught up in thinking that all these guys hated women, and hold ourselves up upon some pedestal of feminist righteousness, but when we really look at the words of the text, I don't think he's saying women are bad. I think he's saying that you shouldn't mask the beauty God has given you with artificial means. His is a holy argument, not necessarily an aesthetic one: by putting makeup on you cheapen His works. I like thinking about things like that. I also like that if you're ugly, you aren't fooling anyone by painting yourself up. Call me judgemental, but when I see an ugly person with tons of makeup on trying to hide it, I mentally call her out. Does this make me a bad person? Probably, but I can't help what I think (not even think, really: these are usually visceral reactions).
Anyway, that was pretty much a giant tangent about nothing but I felt that if I said it in class people would think that I hate women, which I don't, and they would attack me if I admitted I occasionally wear makeup, which I do. I've had about 100,000 crises of faith, but one thing I do like thinking about is each person as a work of art personally designed by God. You wouldn't try and put a little rouge on the Mona Lisa (hmm, but why not? I guess that's a different topic...I suppose it goes into the question of what art is, who makes art, and why art is "Art.").
Some things did confuse me though. Augustine seems a little militant when it comes to "winning" his audience. However you have to do it is fine, as long as in the end an audience has been won. In this case, the winning has everything to do with being on the "Good" side of things. It brings to mind Obi Wan Kenobi, and his pursuit of the good. He has to teach Luke to fight using the Force, and here, the "Force" might be understood as "rhetorical strategies." As a soldier for the good (a soldier for God, in Augustine's case), he's got to use everything he has, even if he has to use methods that can also be used for bad purposes (like Luke learning how to fight). I wonder if I could draw this Star Wars theme out longer? Probably not. But it certainly does call for an inspirational Obi Wan picture.
1 comment:
Well said.
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