Vita Brevis

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VITA BREVIS (Latin):"Brief Life" is a book written by Jostein Gaarder and published in 1996. Gaarder presents the text as written by Saint Augustine´s lover (who is mentioned, but not named, in his Confessions).

[edit] Plot

In the introduction, Gaarder claims that he found the old manuscript at a bookshop in Buenos Aires and translated it. According to his plotline, it was written by Flora Aemilia, Augustine's concubine, who after being abandoned by him, got a thorough Classical education, read his Confessions (where she is mentioned but not named, unlike their son, Adeodatus) and felt compelled to write this text as an answer.