Augustine on his own view stole the fruit for the mere enjoyment of the sin and theft that the stealing involved. He says in (II,4)
"Behold, now let my heart tell you what it
looked for there, that I should be evil
without purpose and there should be no
cause for my evil, but evil itself. Foul
was the evil, and I loved it."
Augustine knew that what he was doing at the time of the crime but he did not care to think about the outcome of his actions. Augustine only cared that the deed which he participated in was indeed forbidden. Himself and his companions stole the fruit even if they had more desirable fruit to eat at their own homes.
Augustine states this in his Confessions (II,4) that
"For I stole a thing of which I had plenty
of my own and much better quality. Nor did
I wish to enjoy the thing which I desired to
gain by theft, but rather to enjoy the actual
theft and sin of theft."
The mere thrill of the theft and sin was more desirable than the fruit which they stole. The fruit was sought as an opportunity to be deceitful and to gain self enjoyment from it.
Augustine, however realizes that the theft that he committed
for the enjoyment of the sin of the crime was indeed unlawful. He thinks of why couldn't he have received enjoyment by committing a more lawful act. In Augustines Confessions (II,6) He states:
" O rottenness! O monstrous life and deepest
death! Could a thing give pleasure which
could not be done lawfully, and which was
done for no other reason because it was
unlawful?"
This shows that Augustine is starting to think about his actions. At the time of the act he was thinking of how much his action ...