Confessions (Oxford World's Classics)

Augustine’s Confessions is a classic in theology, philosophy, church history, and early autobiographies—and not without reason. Confessions provides modern academics with details about daily life in the fourth century Roman Empire, Augustine’s pivotal theological and philosophical arguments, and a vivid view of the struggles and aspirations of fourth-century Christians. Various themes permeate Augustine’s writings—themes that, perhaps because of Augustine’s massive effect on Christian culture, happen to continue in relevance in modern life. Augustine’s autobiography is rife with similar and familiar concerns between our time and Augustine’s own time. Sexual promiscuity, rebellion against authority, conversion, differing interpretations of divine message, and parental concern are all major themes in this book that continue to carry a heavy weight in modern cultural conflicts. Not unlike many life stories today, Augustine was rebellious as a youth; after experiences of conversion, he turned his life 180 degrees around. This must be a reminder that humans have, for the most part, stayed the same over the last 1600 years, but also a reminder of the widespread influence Augustine’s writing has held over so many years of Western culture. The most striking aspect of Augustine’s Confessions as a window into late antiquity is, in fact, this very reminder that people in late antiquity shared many of the same struggles and conflicts of worldview that those in Western culture share today. Augustine organizes his autobiography into thirteen books. The first three books deal with his life as a student; Augustine discusses his early years in detail that shows his very relatable, human side—childhood opinions on school, peer pressure towards vandalism, and strong sexual drive towards promiscuity as an adolescent. The next six books concern his conversion. He discusses his long process from a smart, passionate, and hedonistic scholar to Manichaeism to (at long last) Christianity. The last three books contain the philosophical and theological discussions Augustine’s Confessions is known for—discussions of age-old questions like eternity, the radical evil of humanity, and the integrations of Greek philosophy into Christian theology. Together, these thirteen books work together to make his masterpiece at once endearingly human and relatable as it is brilliant in its theological authority. Augustine’s discussion of his life, with all the personal details and the ex-post-facto lens, shows us more than anything else the similarity of struggles people in late antiquity and modernity went through. In his second book, Augustine repents of the acts of theft he committed in his adolescent years. He tells a story about how he would go to an orchard with some friends, steal pears, and throw them to pigs, only eating a few of the pears. He confesses this story—a story that has been impressed upon his conscience and memory as a deep, dark secret—to God, writing, “‘What fruit had I’, wretched boy, in these things (Rom. 6:21) which I now blush to recall, above all that theft in which I loved nothing but the theft itself?” (II. viii (16)). He explains that this was not an individual act of crime, but rather an act of foolish adolescent peer pressure: The theft itself was a nothing, and for that reason I was more the miserable. Yet had I been alone I would not have done it—I remember my state of mind to be thus at the time—alone I would never have done it. Therefore my love in that act was to be associated with the gang in whose company I did it…. my pleasure was not in the pears; it was in the crime itself, done in association with a sinful group. (II. viii (16)) Reading this passage, one realizes that adolescents faced the same peer pressure that they face today. The phenomenon of vandalism is not, it appears, a modern one: “As soon as the words are spoken ‘Let us go and do it’, one is ashamed not to be shameless” (ix (17). Augustine’s own lens of retrospective confession shows us that he felt and confessed his guilt in a way not unfamiliar to modern readers. Perhaps the most influential theme of Augustine’s autobiography is that of chastity and purity. Throughout the book, Augustine repents over and over again for his licentious years, disgusted at his own deeds. Although Augustine might be seen as a terrible hypocrite—condemning his past sins after he committed them all—one must understand that Augustine is not being holier-than-thou. After all, he is writing to God, and is thus incredibly careful to show his repentance for previous deeds. Augustine believes in the radical depravity of man, but his Confessions is ultimately a book of personal repentance, not a book of condemning others’ sins; without God, all men are equally depraved of good. Because of the personal nature of this book, those who choose to read it and be convicted by it do so at their personal choice to be convicted. We are given a view of the family dynamic of the ancient world as well. The modern family of parents with differing religions does not appear to be unusual in late antiquity. Augustine, writing about his parents’ desire to educate him, tells us that “Both of them, as I realized, were very ambitious for me: my father because he hardly gave a thought to you at all, and his ambitions for me were concerned with mere vanities; my mother because she thought it would do no harm and would be a help to set me on the way towards you, if I studied the traditional pattern of a literary education. That at least is my conjecture as I try to recall the characters of my parents” (iii (8)). The lack of surprise with which Augustine writes of his parents’ differing religions makes it apparent that such mixed marriages were not uncommon. However, Augustine also shows us the regularity of domestic abuse within late antiquity. Augustine’s father “was exceptional both for his kindness and for his quick temper” (IX. ix (19)), yet Augustine’s mother, Saint Monica, in her piety bore the abuse, knowing “that an angry husband should not be opposed, not merely by anything she did, but even by a word” (IX. ix (19)); after his bout of anger had passed, she would reason with him again. “[M]any wives,” writes Augustine, “married to gentler husbands bore the marks of blows and suffered disfigurements to their faces” (IX. ix (19)). Yet she was so dedicated to her husband “as her lord” that she even rebuked other wives for complaining about their husbands’ abuse. Augustine certainly does not dismiss his father’s behavior as acceptable, but it does seem from his writing that such abuse was common behavior with few consequences. Although the marital relationships of ancient antiquity differed significantly from the modern dynamics, the process of Augustine’s conversion bares many parallels to contemporary religious conversions. The close involvement of family, the fervent prayer over many years, and the passionate and bright young scholar’s realization and conversion are all familiar motifs that are found in Augustine’s conversion process. While still a Manichaean, Augustine’s mother asked her priest to debate with Augustine in order to convince him to become a Christian. The priest refused, saying that Augustine “was still unready to learn,” still in the pliable conceits of youth. He simply told her to continue to pray for Augustine, whilst assuring her that Augustine would eventually come to realize the truth of Christianity in his reading. Naturally, she was unhappy with such a response from the priest. In any case, this scenario closely reflects the familiar case of the religious parent who worries for her child’s obsession with a certain religion—in Augustine’s case, Manichaeism. The partisan aspect of religious disagreement so widespread within today’s culture is also apparent in Augustine’s writing: “[H]e [the priest] told her [Saint Monica] how he himself as a small boy had been handed over to the Manicheans by his mother, whom they had led astray” (III. xii (21)). Disagreement on interpretation of Saint Monica’s vision about Augustine’s conversion also adds to the realism of Augustine’s account; while Augustine believed that Saint Monica would convert to Manichaeism, Saint Monica interpreted the vision to mean that Augustine would become Christian. Augustine’s conversion from a young rebel to an austere conservative from a series of realizations is reminiscent of the twentieth-century Jesus movement that stemmed largely from the hippie movement. Although Augustine was no hippie—not even an intellectual hippie—he was nonetheless a rebel, and during his conversion he channeled all of his anti-establishmentarian attitude into becoming averse to the common practices of worldly pleasures. One controversial form of entertainment in late antiquity was the gladiatorial games. Augustine writes vehemently against them in Book VI chapters vii-viii, lamenting the love of the gladiatorial games some of his close friends held. Somehow the games possessed an incredible ability to enliven the bloodlust in a person, and people could become addicted to the games from first sight. Describing a friend who had been resistant to watch a gladiatorial game, Augustine writes: “As soon as he saw the blood, he at once drank in savagery and did not turn away. His eyes were riveted. He imbibed madness. Without any awareness of what was happening to him, he found delight in the murderous contest and was inebriated by bloodthirsty pleasure. He was not now the person who had come in, but just one of the crow which he had joined, and a true member of the group which had brought him” (VI. viii (13)). Roman gladiatorial fights do not exist in the modern world, yet this form of entertainment was a common part of the daily life of many Roman citizens. Augustine’s perspective sheds light both on the widespread access to such entertainment and the controversial nature this entertainment held—not unlike many modern controversial issues that concern libertarian principles—and gives us a great insider’s view of the phenomenon of the Roman gladiatorial fights and its place in society while under the magnifying glass of controversy and going through the transition that led to its extinction. Writing in the late antiquity, Augustine’s personal autobiography gives us an authentic, honest, open-hearted view of his life. The details Augustine discusses when writing about his struggles as a youth show us that people in late antiquity had many similarities and faced similar challenges as do people in modern times. To be sure, some things have changed: Roman gladiatorial fights are illegal in most countries, and domestic abuse is much less common in first-world countries. Nonetheless, the striking similarities between people in late antiquity and today are revealed by the personal perspective Augustine’s autobiography provides. People may have enjoyed different forms of entertainment at the time, but ultimately the struggles and social forces that propelled people to right and wrong have remained the same.

These `Confessions' comprise a beautifully written and very personal summary of what lead Augustine of Hippo to Catholic Christianity. They are confessed in the form of an epic, highly digressive 300-page psalm. This psalm is personal and unconventional, with many long asides to the earthly readers. But the structure and essence from start to finish are those of an open letter of praise and petition to God. And the result is a literary masterpiece, whose author proves himself to be an inspired genius. Augustine grew up in Roman-dominated Northern Africa in the last half of the 4th century C.E., and converted to Christianity only as a 33-year-old adult, despite being brought up by a Christian mother whom he adored. Because of his gifts in persuasive rhetoric, he moved closer to the more cosmopolitan areas of the Roman Empire to learn and teach others how to peddle their own influence, spending time in Corinth, Milan, and Rome before eventually returning to Northern Africa after his conversion; and so his milieu became the late and entropic Roman Empire, which was still powerful but in the beginning of its' death throes. Augustine was influenced early in life by Neoplatonism and its' own antecedents in classic Greek and Roman thought, and particularly by a kind of Neoplatonic-Christian gumbo known as Manichaeism. But while the Neoplatonist influence remained with Augustine to some degree at least in terms of a few philosophical concepts and his rhetorical style, he would nonetheless later become a very forceful and generative exponent of the many things about his Christian philosophy which distinguish it from Neoplatonic and Manichaeistic thought. In a sense his 'Confessions' becomes a polemic against his own early Manichaeistic ideas, in favor of his corresponding later ideas conceived after his conversion. And as intellectually challenging as many of the ideas are, they concern far more than the navel gazing questions about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, but rather address what God wants humans to do on this earth (although there is also quite a bit of philosophizing here.) Augustine was interested in the Christian community above all his own personal concerns and questions -- he gave up all his inheritance and became a bishop in Hippo after his conversion, and his new-found selflessness was a big part of the philosophy that he gained and promoted upon becoming a Christian. As my review title already said, the writing is extremely modern, discussing intimate personal feelings and including Augustine's friendships, sadness, lust ('Lord make me chaste -- but not yet.'), a youthful crime, vanity, his mistress and his child out of wedlock, and his often painful intellectual uncertainty. It is worth repeating that this kind of personal memoir is striking when one considers the time it was written: a passage about Augustine stealing pears with his cronies has the forgiving pathos of a Charles Dickens or Mark Twain story, even as it shows that Augustine felt later that he was on the wrong path, and why. In this litany of personal foibles, Augustine exposes much that is universal in the human heart everywhere and at all times, with a precise and detailed yet humble and often poetic analysis of his own psychology, and that of all of those around him whom he cared about, especially his mother Monica (the famous 'Santa Monica'.) Then there is the theology itself. On that score perhaps there is a little too much harvesting of Christian signs within so much biblical word-parsing (especially on Genesis and, above all, the Psalms, which he quotes on nearly every page.) But if one can bear with these non-critical theological speculations, then there is also a tremendous amount of deep philosophical analysis within that Christian framework, showing a depth of rigor that I frankly did not think possible for a believing Christian 1600 years ago. The components of this analysis are also (like the discussion of his past experiences) written as personal and eloquent arguments, in which the passion, conviction and precise sense of a feeling conveyed, can almost be heard and felt. The most amazing one of these philosophical soliloquies (not surprisingly one where he gets away from directly interpreting Biblical verses) is Augustine's analysis late in the book of the ideas of time, memory, and how they interact. This has a great deal in common with much of what made Marcel Proust's 'In Search of Lost Time' such a great modern philosophical novel written more than 1500 years later. I read these 'Confessions' right after I had read the 'New Testament' for the first time in my life, to get a sense of what propelled Christianity beyond the fragile status it held when it began (i.e., as a counterculture, theologically and culturally at odds with established Judaism, early Jewish Christianity, and the Roman Empire, everywhere that it existed)-- into a socio-political entity that would not only merge with and then outlive the empire, but grow, and eventually dominate the world for centuries in ways both good and bad. The bad should never be understated. There is much to be cynical of, about how Augustine's early Catholic Christianity played out as a political instrument of cultural hegemony. But there had to be something deep and human there that drove it on as a force in the human affairs of nearly every country in the Western Hemisphere. I was not disappointed in this aspect, or in any others, of this marvelous memoir of the most important Christian thinker of his time. If I had more time to devout to Augustine, I might have tried to read his 'City of God', which is much longer and supposedly explains his theology in greater detail than does 'Confessions'. Instead I have moved on from Augustine to Dante's Divine Comedy, to follow Christian thought another 900 years further into the aftermath of its humble beginnings.

“You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.” -St. Augustine A.N. Whitehead once claimed that all of western philosophy consists in a series of footnotes to Plato. It is my belief that all of Christian theology consists in a series of footnotes to St. Augustine. A Confessional Prayer The Confessions of St. Augustine are powerful, autobiographical, and humbling, and yet contain knowledge far beyond my current comprehension. The sheer meaning of every single word is staggering, and a single reading of the Confessions has given me a mere introduction to Augustinian thought. This book is DEEP! “It is good to make confession to you, Lord, and to say ‘Have mercy on me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.” As Augustine recounts his former sins, struggles, and false conceptions of God and Christianity, he makes a powerful case for the Gospel. While many make Augustine out to be a big sinner, the fact is that he is not a big sinner, but that he knows sin is a big deal to God and thus worthy of deep sorrow and pain. How much more should I weep before a good God, who made me for himself, and yet I turned away from him at birth! Evil is Not a Substance “I did not know that evil has no existence except as a privation of good, down to that level which is altogether without being.” Did God create evil? The problem of evil contains a syllogism that looks something like this. 1.) Evil is a thing 2.) God created everything 3.) God created evil The simplicity of this argument would be a threat to a dualistic worldview, but Christianity is not dualistic. Dualism is the belief that there are two opposing forces, good and evil, and they are both at war. As I said, Christianity is not dualistic (containing both Good and Evil). In the Christian worldview there is only one substance that exists: Goodness. All turning away from goodness is given the name ‘evil’, but in truth, evil is not a thing, it is an act. While God created everything, he did not do everything; while He controls the universe, he is not the universe that actively rebels against himself. What is the Christian Worldview, really? Behind this technical philosophy/theology, Augustine is really fleshing out the Christian worldview. What is the Christian worldview, really? Do we believe that good and evil are two opposing forces in the universe like the Manichean dualists? Do we believe in the harmony of good and evil like the yin and yang of eastern religions? Or is it neither, and that God is good, and evil is really a privation of good, and all that we call evil is merely a turning away from the source of all moral goodness. God created every body and soul, and every soul had a will to either face towards the Goodness of God or turn away. The flower of mankind turned from the sun of God and reaped the withering consequences of the absence of life-giving sunlight. 1.) Good is a thing 2.) God created everything 3.) Evil is not a thing, but a lack of a thing 4.) God did not create evil This is huge. The solution to the problem of evil is: read Augustine. If the Christian worldview only allows for the existence of Good, then God did not create Evil. This is a full-proof argument. The best Christian apologetic is getting Christianity right. We run into philosophical/theological/scientific problems only when we get Christianity wrong. If we want to defend the Gospel, we need accuracy and not clever arguments. That’s where Augustine thrives: he get’s the Christian worldview right (mostly). Sin: A Perverted Imitation of God “In their perverted way all humanity imitates you” Why do we sin? Augustine grapples with the recklessness of running away from God, and comes to the conclusion that all sin is a perverted imitation of God. When we act pridefully we falsely imitate God’s loftiness, when we act in anger we falsely imitate God’s omnipotence, when we act out of selfish ambition we falsely imitate the honor and glory that only God deserves. How true, that all running away from God is merely a disguised and perverted imitation of him! We innately long for God, and we display our longing sinful imitation of his attributes. “Pride imitates what is lofty; but you alone are God most high above all things.” Lest I write more and fall short of the brilliance of the Confessions, I can do no better than to recommend you the book that might change your life, as it did mine.

Saint Augustine of Hippo (354 - 430 AD) was a Father of the Church (meaning he was an influential theologian in the early church period). He is known primarily for two works, "Confessions" and "The City of God," and he is considered very influential in the development of Western Christianity and philosophy. He wrote his autobiographical work "Confessions" between 397 and 398 AD. It is generally viewed as the first Western autobiography ever written, and it is a significant theological work. Written when he was in his early 40s, the book (actually 13 "books") traces the development of his thought from his youth through his young adulthood, then documents his conversion to Christianity; the later books (10 through 13) contain his reflections on various theological, spiritual, and psychological matters. Throughout you can feel the heavy influence of the Neo-Platonism of the Greek Philosopher Plotinus. I've wanted to read this book since my mid 20s. I'm glad I waited 25 years, though. I don't know that I would have (or could have) appreciated what Augustine did in this book. The first thing that really struck me about Confessions (Books 1 through 9) (and I should say this translation) is that it does not read as if it were written 1,500 years ago. In fact, in parts it reads as if it could have been written today. What I mean is: the language of Augustine (of the translator Henry Chadwick) is fresh, accessible, and engaging. All of this made the Confessions a real pleasure to read, from Book 1 to Book 9. His descriptions of his inner turmoil on the verge of his conversion to Christianity are raw, heartfelt, and heart wrenching. I could not put the book down. Book 10 is where the text begins to change, dramatically, and through Book 13 I found it difficult to pick up. Here Augustine starts to grind through his philosophy of memory, mind, and senses. When Augustine confronts his distractions in his life, they are eye-opening to this modern reader. He catches himself in lapses of empty thoughts while watching a spider entrap a fly .... How much more are our distractions today with anything on television or the Internet!? The problem of the "pride of life" has increased exponentially since the 4th century. But the essential problem remains the same: "....frivolous thoughts somehow rush in and cut short an aspiration of the deepest importance" (p. 213). He confesses: "This is why I lost you: you do not condescend to be possessed together with falsehood" (p. 218). Heady stuff. Book 11 continues with Time and Eternity. Topics that the average modern American reader likely will find tedious, at best. Reading these sections reminded me of my days plowing through the most dense, most incoherent, most opaque passages of Kierkegaard. In the brightest spots it reminded me of reading The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. In Book 12 Augustine admits: "If my voice and pen were to confess to you [God] all that you disentangled for me in examining this question [of creation], no reader would have the patience to follow the argument" (p. 248). Yes, Augustine, yes! I think a modern editor would have suggested making some hefty edits. By Book 13 my head was hurting, the text was not edifying (I disagreed with some of his interpretations of scripture; and some of his allegorical exegesis was just distracting from the Word, it didn't help me appreciate the Word), and I was glad to finish. Part autobiography; part soliloquy; part biblical exegesis; part devotional; part philosophical explorations of memory, time, and existence--Augustine's Confessions is each but more. As a cornerstone of Christianity this stands as a vital work. And as early literature it is important both as autobiography and as philosophy/theology. Read it for what it is: a foundational text from which many others could benefit and grow. And unique insight into the mind of a Church Father.

A joy to read! It is personal and readable, near Poetical. Augustine was on a path to learn truth, find God, and experienced twists and turns of self-doubt and a divided will that, I think, anyone pursuing knowledge might find of interests, or someone a bit delusioned and cynical about life may find solace in. Augustine's message is a passionate one, this passion is the shining attribute of his confession -- his giving himself over to a life of honest endeavor to do God's will. He defines what the spirit of an honest pursuit looks like, and could be somewhat applied to all pursuits of truth. It is a bit cathartic to read about this often divided and quite human of a man, who I can't see how anyone could apply the terms orthodox or evangelical too (an Effort/Endeavor seems more on terms with a Christian's experience), and how he came to terms with the mysteries that are in our world. His description why it is impossible to know truth ultimately, but his conlusions behind the message of the meaning of mysteries is powerful stuff in themselves. Some interesting themes I found, that Augustine expounded on were: The mysteries of time and memory and what their being mysteries means. How the soul and music are akin. Some differences in exegesis are just quibbles that one should agree to disagree on among sincere souls. Physical delight needs to be checked by reason (Augustine was coming to terms with lust, apparently, even at the time of this writing). Don't be overly dependant on the praise of man. Even contempt of the vain can be a vanity of its own sort. His descriptions of the third temptations. His admiration of his mother and his descriptions of the sort of person she was. The true search is the inner search. There are things the church does to get people interested that are lower than the true spiritual Christian search Confession is sacrifice... Almost every page was interesting. Augustine was always surrounded by friends and was never in serious wanting of food or such, that I understood anyway. It is just the account of a highly intelligent, but splinterd man in search of God, until he comes to terms with the Christian mysteries of good. I could hear Shakespeare, Waugh, and Wilde echoing in some of his words. Mr. Chadwich also makes it clear that Augustine barrowed a lot from Neo-Platonist authors, especially Plotinus. The book also provides interesting insights into life in North Africa and Italy at that time, and their cultural differences. Augustine, like Aquinas, was North African. The book was relatively light reading, and highly accessible -- but deep -- especially taken in its entirety. Chadwick's translation, although I cannot attest to the authenticity of it, as I know no Latin, was near poetical and his notes kept my interest by aiding my understanding, clarifying themes and points, without obfuscating the passion of Augustine's message. Highly catharctic, enjoyable reading.

+ Excellent translation and in-depth, yet concise, footnotes by Henry Chadwick. + Completely relevant today, regarding spiritual matters and culture... even originating from the 300/400's, A.D.. + The choice of font, font size, formatting. + Specific and unobtrusive detailed footnotes into Augustine's perspective/philosophy/age (in addition to the referenced Biblical passages.) There's Aristotle, Plato, Cicero, Virgil, Plotinus, Porphyry, various Manicheans, Neoplatonism, etc.; alongside where this quote or thought can be found in other texts and/or the defining of such material. - and oddly a "+": Unfortunately, a glued binding. For shame Oxford! (Well for this price, I do consider it a great deal. So, thank-you Oxford.) The Holy Bible is my true source of Wisdom... yet to see insight from a true Christian genius, a product of such Godly Wisdom, Augustine's knowledge and life applications easily conquer nearly any "theologian" or "scholar" today. Augustine can seem antiquated in "common" modern social settings to many. (For instance: about the commonality of "plays", types of schooling.) Yet, suddenly I see his Biblically-inspired conviction/thought reflected in certain movies, internet videos, etc.. This is only one very brief example. So do your mind and soul a favor. Purchase (or borrow/rent from a library/school) this intelligently translated and well-thought out English edition. The Simon Vance (Hovel Audio) audio edition of Pusey's translation, the book being now either extinct or "open source", is a great addition and helpful reminder of the constant wisdom that that this book is constantly presenting. To quote a famous portion. (The "..." insertions are my own.): "... weeping in the bitter agony of my heart, suddenly I heard a voice from the nearby house chanting ... saying and repeating over and over again ‘Pick up and read, pick up and read.' ... I interpreted it solely as a divine command to me to open the book and read the first chapter I might find. ... So I hurried back ... I had put down the book of the apostle ... I seized it, opened it and in silence read the first passage on which my eyes lit: ‘Not in riots and drunken parties, not in eroticism and indecencies, not in strife and rivalry, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in its lusts’ (Rom. 13: 13–14). I neither wished nor needed to read further. At once, with the last words of this sentence, it was as if a light of relief from all anxiety flooded into my heart. All the shadows of doubt were dispelled." -Saint Augustine, Confessions, Book VIII: The Birthpangs of Conversion; Henry Chadwick translation

I should have read this decades ago. The first 1/2 of the book is incredibly interesting as it reveals so much about life back in the beginning of the 5th century. It is written with remarkable insight and wisdom that rivals that of many authors today. It offers perspective that predates the enlightenment and modernity, which is also helpful for us who are saturated in both. Finally, it is filled with references to the Gospels and Pauline letters, demonstrating just how widely they had been circulated since the 1st Century.

How do you review a 1600-year-old classic? Are you going to give it one star because it's boring? It's still an important read, if you want to be educated. Augustine's style, filtered through this translation, is windy and circuitous. It is self-indulgent; he needed an editor to cut the dead wood out. He can be very tedious. He can't stay on point. Very smart guy, but you will find yourself drifting off and reading the same page over and over. If you're expecting a typical autobiography, meaning a story of a person's experiences, this will disappoint you. Augustine tells very little about the events of his life. It's not a narrative, like The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Mostly, he rambles about philosophy and his decision to accept Catholicism. You will learn virtually nothing of interest about his experiences. He knows very little about God. He guesses a lot. He tries to make deductions, using his reason. He's not like the apostles, who knew God personally and experienced his power. Don't expect flashy miracles or visions. By the time Augustine became a Christian, the church was already on life support, supernaturally, and it has stayed there ever since. Read it because it's an influential classic. Don't expect to be entertained or to learn about God.

What can i write about the Great Saint Augustine. I am so grateful of God for having his book. I would like also express my gratitude to the Oxford University Press for providing his readers with such a magnificent work.

good translation into english

This is an excellent book written by one of the most influential Fathers of the Church, St. Augustine. The translation is good, with easy-to-understand language for all readers especially those looking for a modern translation. This book it is an absolute must-read for any true Christian.

Confessions is a classic. My review is about the translation. A very good translation and also full of footnotes which is very much appreciated. It gives us a glimpse into the world and the thoughts of Augustine and makes the reading much more valuable.

Excellent