The connection between lust and loss of control haunted and worried Augustine. These themes crescendoed in the form of an erection. Other body parts are easily controllable, but the penis has a mind of its own, and he did not like that. Greenblatt believes that this was primarily due to the deep shame Augustine felt when his own erection was pointed out by his father at a public bath. This set into motion a family drama that may have come to define him, and possibly Western civilization.
