Transformation and perfection Part 2 Perfection 2 Perfection

2: Perfection • St. Augustine, in his “Confessions”, moves our focus from the outside

Vulnerability • We live on the outside; our body is out in the world,

St. Augustine • "…wherever I looked I saw only death. My own country became

Thomas a Kempis • “The inner life of man is greatly hindered in this

…change. • It is change that afflicts the body and that, for Augustine and

A Christian world-view… • For St. Augustine and Thomas a Kempis, the believer is

“To make the stony. ” • If we are to understand perfection as the

Exit… • Can art find perfection and still embrace change? • Is art made

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Transformation and perfection Part 2: Perfection

2: Perfection • St. Augustine, in his “Confessions”, moves our focus from the outside world (which is characterized by change) to the inner world of God, the soul, and the mind.

Vulnerability • We live on the outside; our body is out in the world, while our thoughts we can keep inside. The outside is where we are, perhaps, at our most vulnerable.

St. Augustine • "…wherever I looked I saw only death. My own country became a torment and my own home a grotesque abode of misery. All that we had done together was now a grim ordeal without him. ” (St. Augustine, The Confessions, in Penguin Classics, pg. 76)

Thomas a Kempis • “The inner life of man is greatly hindered in this life by the needs of the body…Woe to those who refuse to recognise their own wretchedness, and doubly woe to those who love this miserable and corruptible life!” (Thomas a Kempis, The Immitation of Christ, in Penguin Classics, Pg. 55)

…change. • It is change that afflicts the body and that, for Augustine and Thomas a Kempis, must be challenged by something more constant and less vulnerable.

A Christian world-view… • For St. Augustine and Thomas a Kempis, the believer is seen as united in God, who is Himself indivisible and wholly perfect, as He is not subject to change.

“To make the stony. ” • If we are to understand perfection as the unchanging, the indivisible; is art not at odds with such a view?

Exit… • Can art find perfection and still embrace change? • Is art made of the sensible things of the world, or is the artist (as some believe) a conduit for greater truths? • Is the inner/outer split of much theology and philosophy real or imagined?