on, who faults the father's willingness to forgive without question the excesses the younger.
Universal application of the parable can be seen with reference to a whole range of literature and the plastic arts. Baldwin (1987) compiles a bibliography of the parable's use with a view toward illustrating the critical position of Christian art and literature in Western culture. O'Meara (1970) sees a parallel between the Confessions of St. Augustine, which autobiographically chronicles the life of a profligate who transformed his life. He cites Augustine's preoccupation with the confluence of themes of reconciliation, "mystical ascent," and more generally conversion, and locates that preoccupation with the parable of the prodigal son. Indeed, the famous passage from Augustine strongly recalls the prodigal's intention to humble himself before his father: "Too late loved I Thee, O Thou Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! too late I loved Thee! . . . Thou flashedst, shonest and scatteredst my blindness" (in Freemantle, 1954, p. 25).
Scott (1977) cites the traditional equation of the elder son with the Pharisees, only to reject it as incomplete. His main point is that the original readers of the parable would have brought to it a special understanding of the privileges of elder versus younger sons, implying that this parable would have spoken in particular to the Christian interpretation of social constructs of the period. For example, the popular myth of the younger son is that he might be given over to wantonness, while the same myth of the elder is that as the principal heir he would be expected to behave responsibly. Indeed, the parable bears out this stereotype of expectations. As Fromm points out, "The emphasis of the Jewish religion was (especially from the beginning of
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