Confessions (Augustine)

Confessions is a series of thirteen autobiographical books by Augustine of Hippo, written between 397 and 398 CE. In modern times, the books are usually published as a single volume.

The book tells of Augustine's 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 Middle Ages. It is not a complete autobiography, as it was written when Augustine was in his early forties, and he lived for over thirty more years, during which he produced another important work (City of God); it does, however, provide an unbroken record of the evolution of his thought, and is the most complete record of any single individual from the fourth and fifth centuries.

The Confessions is also a significant theological work. In it, Augustine talks about how much he regrets having led a sinful and immoral life, being a Manichaeism, and believing in astrology. he relates the processes and influences that led him to change his mind on these and other matters, including his eventual conversion to the Christian faith of his mother. He describes his regret concerning his youthful sexual behaviour.

Themes of the books

1. His infancy and boyhood up to the age of fourteen.
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 the ages of sixteen and nineteen.
4. His loss of a friend and his studies of Aristotle between the ages of twenty and twenty-nine.
5. His move away from Manichaeism under the influence of Ambrose in Milan at the age of twenty-nine.
6. His move towards Catholicism under the influence of Ambrose at the age of thirty.
7. His move towards a greater understanding of God at the age of thirty-one.
8. His conversion to Christianity at the age of thirty-two, and his instruction by Simplicianus on how to convert others.
9. His baptism when he was thirty-three, the death of his mother, Monica, and of his friends Nebridius and Vecundus; his abandonment of his rhetorical studies.
10. Continued reflections on the values of confessions and on the workings of memory, as related to the five senses.
11. Reflections on the biblical book of Genesis and searching for the meaning of time.
12. Continued reflections on the book of Genesis.
13. Exploration of the meaning of Genesis and the Trinity.

References

• Rex Warner (1963). The Confessions of St. Augustine. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-451-62474-2.  (English translation)

External links

• New Advent explanation of Confessions
• Confessions (in Latin)
• Confessions (English translation
• "An Introduction to Augustine's Confessions" by James J. O'Donnell