4. See ibid., V11, 9, 13.
1ntroduction
Origin and intention
Augustine had not given up on his original plan of commenting on the literal meaning of Genesis. The new work, The Literal Meaning ofGenesis, was meant to be a kind of Augustinian summa on the subject of creation.1 Admittedly, as compared with the spiritually rich Expositions of the Psalms and the Homilies on the Gospel ofJohn, the commentary may strike the reader as quite dull and at times even dry. But for this very reason the work allows us to get a better glimpse of Augustine the theologian at work as he studies the scripture and is absorbed by it and instructs his readers by letting them share in his own search for the meaning.
ln the Revisions Augustine does not give any concrete occasion for this work, as he does for his other writings. He repeats what he says a number oftimes in the commentary: that he intended an exegesis that would be literal (secundum rerum gestarum proprietatem) and not allegorical (secundum allegoricas significationes).2 His now deeper knowledge of the Bible, his previous attempts at interpretation, his study of other authors' exegesis of the Hexaemeron, and, finally, his religious and philosophical maturation—all these made it possible for him to achieve the several goals he sets for himself in this work.
Augustine's exegesis of Genesis undoubtedly had in good measure an apologetical aim, but his concern was no longer simply with the errors of the Manichees but rather with all false views of the text of Genesis. He refuted even errors that had only a broad connection with the idea of creation, for example, the pre-existence of souls as maintained by Origen,3 and the Platonic doctrine of the transmigration of souls (metempsychosis) as modified by Porphyry.4 Pagans confronted with the texts of the Bible felt the same difficulties Augustine himself had felt as a young man, and he wanted his exegesis to help them decode the true meaning of those texts. Nor does he fail to deal critically with the theses
1 . See, for a general treatment, M. M. Gorman, The Unknown Augustine: A Study of the Literal Interpretation of Genesis (De Genesi ad litteram) (Dissertation; Toronto, 1975); P. Agaesse and A. Solignac, La Genese au sens litteral 1-V11 (Bibliotheque Augustinienne 48; Paris, 1972)
1 1-79. 2. Revisions 11, 24, 2 (CCL 57, 109); see The Literal Meaning of Genesis 1, 1 , 2; V111, 2, 5. 3. See ibid., V1, 9, 15; V11, 9, 13. 4. See ibid., V11, 9, 13.