在《懺悔錄》4.4.7－4.12.19中，奧古斯丁回顧和反思了「密友之死」事件。在《四種愛》中，魯益師聲稱，奥奧古斯丁乃是在尋找某種獲得安寧、避開痛苦的方法。然而，魯益師曲解了《懺悔錄》卷四的行文邏輯與寫作重心。事實上，《懺悔錄》卷四首先關注的是「真實與虛假」、「真理與錯誤」，而非「安寧與痛苦」。「密友之死」使奧奥古斯丁意識到，摩尼教不是真理，而是虛假、錯謬和迷信。不過，奧奥古斯丁因「密友之死」而生的關於友愛方面的領悟，與《四種愛》的主旨大意頗有契合之處，也就是說，魯益師的誤讀並未使二人在友愛觀方面產生實質性分歧。借鏡於魯益師的觀點，我們甚或能更好地理解「密友之死」中的友愛困境。因此，儘管魯益師曾「失之東隅」，但最終卻「收之桑榆」。

In Confessions 4.4.7-4.12.19, Augustine reminisced and reflected on “the intimate's death.” In The Four Loves, C. S. Lewis insisted that Augustine was searching for a way to obtain calmness and avoid suffering. However, Lewis failed to interpret the textual logic and the thrust of writing in Confessions IV. In substance, Confessions IV primarily focuses on “realness and falsehood” “truth and erroneousness,” rather than “calmness and suffering.” Through “the intimate's death,” Augustine realized that Manichaeism is not the truth, but falsehood, fallacy, and superstition. Nevertheless, there are several striking echoes between Augustine's comprehensions from “the intimate's death” and the main idea of The Four Loves, in other words, Lewis' misreading did not lead to fundamental disagreements between them. From Lewis' points of view, we may even better understand the dilemma of friendship amid “the intimate's death.” As a result, although Lewis “Loses on One Side,” he finally “Gains on the Other.”