Augustine: Confessions Book 6

I'm going to write part of this, then continue it tomorrow. Unlike previously, I'm going to append my update to the post, at the end of this. So if you just catch part 1, check back in a day or so.

Part 1
First impressions. This book was easier to read. The text was far more direct. Lots of personal "life story" instead of philosophical digressions which need to be studied and parsed in order to figure them out. In it we get the inklings of Augustine, as a now secular (previously Manichean) seeker he is being drawn as into a vortex into Catholicism. He has questions for Ambrose but cannot ask them because Ambrose is such a busy prelate. We are introduced to his mother Monica and a friend Alypius. Alypius is complex man. He has a weakness for "games" (gladiotorial (as a spectator)). He spends some time musing over his unmarried state, his mistress for many years (who bore him a son) leaves him. She leaves because his mother has arranged a marriage for him (which is to take place in two years hence). He is torn by his mistress loss. He replaces her with a new mistress, but is not proud of it. His friend Alypius he tells us has been celibate. He feels celibacy is way too much to ask of a man. It will be fascinating to see the evolution of his thought as the next few chapters progress.