Augustine: Earlier Writings (continued)
THE USEFULNESS OF BELIEF 303 urge those who care for their souls to examine its great mysteries, and I shall show them that there is hope of divine fruit and of finding truth. No one doubts that he who seeks true religion either believes already that the soul, which is to profit by religion, is immortal, or at least hopes to gain that belief from religion itself. All religion is on account of the soul. No man has any care or anxiety about the condition of his natural body, at any rate after death, if his soul possesses that which will make it blessed. On account of the soul alone or chiefly, therefore, true religion, if there is one, is instituted. But the soul —I know not why and I confess the problem is obscure—the soul errs and is foolish, as we see, until it obtains and comprehends wisdom. Wisdom is perchance true religion. Am I sending you to fables? Am I compelling you to believe anything rashly?
I say our soul is ensnared and plunged in folly and error, but seeks the path of truth, if there be any. If this is not your experience, pardon me, and share with me, I pray, your wisdom. But if you recognize in your own heart that it is as I say, let us, I beseech you, seek the truth together.
15. Suppose we have never heard any teacher of such a religion. We are undertaking an entirely new enterprise. We must first, I suppose, seek for men who profess to teach it. Suppose we have discovered that some hold one opinion, some another, and in the diversity of opinions all desire to attract inquirers, each to his own opinion. But suppose that among them there are some of notable celebrity, accepted by nearly all nations. Whether in fact they possess the truth remains a big question. But surely we must first find out about them, so that so long as we err, being human, we may seem to err with the human race itself.
16. But, you say, truth is found among the few. If you know where it is to be found, you are assuming that you know what it is, but my hypothesis is that we are starting our search from scratch. Nevertheless, granted that you are compelled by the force of truth to conjecture that only a few can possess it, you do not know who, in fact, these are. Now suppose the few who know the truth are able to hold the multitude by their authority, and can therefore expound and elucidate their secrets widely. What then? We see that very few attain consummate eloquence, though throughout the whole world the schools of rhetoric thunder in the ears of crowds of young men. Surely those who wish to become good orators will not take alarm at the multitude of the unlearned, and imagine that they must pay attention