Through memory, parallels are established between the text which he is reading and the narrative of the life which he once led. In the process, his past experience is transformed. These include reading as a spiritual exercise, the importance of both scripture and memory in a programme of self-improvement, and the acquisition of higher knowledge through intellectual ascent. The merit of Stock's approach to this topic which has already been the subject of extensive scholarly attention, lies in his attempt to integrate it within Augustine's theory of reading and to relate it to his programme of spiritual progress. True understanding of a word is not prompted by the expression of the word, but is rather the result of divine enlightenment.
Signs are only useful in conveying guidelines for what is taught within.
Self- reform occurs when individuals attempt spiritual ascent through their understanding of selected texts. At issue in Augustine's approach to reading in these two works as well as in the De Utilitate Credendi is the problem of reception which arises from the inadequacy of signs. The reading of the biblical text is not an end in itself, but rather enables the reader to acquire salvific knowledge, i.e. to enjoy God. The ambiguity of figurative signs involves either the meaning in the reader or the meaning in the text. Augustine approaches the problem by relating the improvable spirit in the reader with the spiritual sense of scripture.