The Confessions of Saint Augustine

Confessions (Latin: Confessiones) is the name of an autobiographical work, consisting of 13 books, by St. Augustine of Hippo, written in Latin between AD 397 and AD 398. Modern English translations of it are sometimes published under the title The Confessions of St. Augustine in order to distinguish the book from other books with similar titles. Its original title was "Confessions in Thirteen Books," and it was composed to be read out loud with each book being a complete unit.

 

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Easton Press Editions

  The Confessions of Saint Augustine - 100 Greatest Books Ever Written - 1979

Franklin Library Editions

  The Confessions - 100 Greatest Books of All Time - 1976
  The Confessions - Great Books of the Western World - 1980

  The Confessions - Oxford Library of The World's Greatest Books - 1982
  The City of God and Christian Doctrine - Great Books of the Western World - 1985

Summary

The work outlines Augustine's sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity. It is widely seen as the first Western autobiography ever written, and was an influential model for Christian writers throughout the following 1,000 years of the Middle Ages. It is not a complete autobiography, as it was written in his early 40s, and he lived long afterwards, producing another important work (City of God). It does, nonetheless, provide an unbroken record of his development of thought and is the most complete record of any single person from the 4th and 5th centuries. It is a significant theological work, featuring spiritual meditations and insights.

In the work St. Augustine writes about how much he regrets having led a sinful and immoral life. He discusses his regrets for following the Manichaean religion and believing in astrology. He writes about Nebridius's role in helping to persuade him that astrology was not only incorrect but evil, and St. Ambrose's role in his conversion to Christianity. The first nine books are autobiographical and the last four are commentary. He shows intense sorrow for his sexual sins, and writes on the importance of sexual morality. The books were written as prayers to God, thus the title, based on the Psalms of David; and it begins with "For Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless till they rest in Thee." The work is thought to be divisible into books which symbolize various aspects of the Trinity and trinitarian belief.

Themes

1. His infancy and boyhood up to age 15;
2. His fall amongst bad companions, which led him to commit theft and succumb to lust;
3. His studies at Carthage, his conversion to Manichaeism and continued indulgence in lust between 16 and 19;
4. His loss of a friend and his studies in Aristotle and the fit and the fair between 20 and 29;
5. His moving away from Manichaeism under the influence of St. Ambrose in Milan at 29;
6. His moving towards Catholicism under the influence of St. Ambrose at 30;
7. His moving towards a greater understanding of God at 31;
8. His conversion to Christianity at the age of 32 and his instruction by Simplicianus on how to convert others;
9. His baptism at 33, the death of his mother Monica and the death of his friends Nebridius and Vecundus, and his abandonment of his studies of rhetoric;
10. Continued reflections on the values of confessions and on the workings of memory;
11. Reflections on Genesis;
12. Continued reflections on the book of Genesis; and
13. Exploration of the meaning of Genesis and the Trinity


Source and additional information: Confessions (Augustine)