Abstract

The role of augustine for wittgenstein's life and thought has not yet been sufficiently explored. it can throw important light on his personality and on his philosophizing. augustine's impact on wittgenstein's religious life begins during his imprisonment at monte cassino at the end of world war i, but is not reflected in his own writings. in his philosophical texts thus far published references to the "confessions" are traced after "tractatus" in fourteen passages, exceeding those to all other philosophers. a study of these quotations in their contexts shows that they serve not only as inspiration and confirmation but very often as targets for the development of wittgenstein's own thinking