Matthias Smalbrugge - The notion of imago as a hermeneutic model in the Confessions

In his Confessions, Augustine makes clear that a human being can only discover his self in the act of confessing himself to God. It is only when he confesses himself, that he can discover his identity. This identity proves not to be a stable one, but often a lost one. Mankind has lost his original integrity, lost his unity,  and wastes himself in the multiplicity of his doings. His acts will not create a inner unity, but only an ever growing multiplicity. Central in this description of the state of mankind is the notion of image. We are created in the image of God, but also wear in us a divine image. So image is the hermeneutic term that can be considered as the pivotal concept that makes it possible to link knowledge of ourselves to knowledge of God. What I intend to examine, is the question how this pivotal hermeneutic model functions and where the image Augustine creates of himself (the self-portrait) allows him to transcend himself and arrive at the knowledge of God.