  This understanding of illumination is particularly apparent in the De magistro, where Augustine argues that only God can teach us. Of course, other people can tell us things, and can thereby communicate ideas to us. And we can believe what others tell us: indeed, our lives would be impoverished if we didn’t regularly accept what others tell us. But all of this stays at the level of mere belief. It is not knowledge unless we grasp with our minds the truth of what we are hearing: