In the autumn of 386 Augustine found himself in a difficult situation. He had been moving for about ten years within a Manichean framework. His friends and patrons were mainly pagans and Manicheans. With their help, he finally managed to climb the social ladder and reach the leading rhetorical position at the imperial court of Milan. The political situation in these days became increasingly difficult for someone who was concerned with politics and eagerly looking for intellectual and spiritual orientation. Christianity had not yet been firmly established and there was a great struggle between the emperor Valentinian II and Ambrose the bishop of Milan. Within this situation the ambitious orator of the Milanese court had to find an appropriate position. In his Confessions and De beata vita Augustine writes that he lost confidence in Manicheism and occupied himself with Academic scepticism for a short time. He increasingly turned to a version of Christian thought as it was taught by Ambrose. In 386 the conflicts between emperor and bishop came to a head and Ambrose was gaining ground through the support of a great part of the Milanese people. In the end, the emperor left Milan. At the same time Augustine decided to become a Christian. According to Chapter 4 of De beata vita, he managed this transition with great care. The story he offers is highly allegorical, and needs to be deciphered in the light of the Confessions. In my paper I will argue that one ought to consider Chapter 4 not only as a orator’s literary work but as a kind of balancing act: Augustine is trying to side with Christianity without antagonizing his friends and patrons. In interpreting this chapter, I will pay attention to the contemporary political context, especially as regards the establishment of Christianity, and Augustine’s social network.
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