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Confessions (Penguin Classics)

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St. Augustine is one of the greatest thinkers the West ever produced. Born in North Africa in the waning years of the Roman Empire, his Confessions detail his ultimate conversion to Nicene Christianity after a ten year journey through the various trendy sects of the 4th century C.E. Augustine was a member of the Manichean heresy, a follower of Astrology, and an all around sinner. He enjoyed the barbaric games of the coliseum, was overly proud of his education and teaching positions, and just couldn't bring himself to give up the ladies. He even had a son, Adeodatus, who was born out of wedlock. In short, Augustine loved the things that most people love, and he loved the same things that we love in our decadent age. This is what makes this book so relevant today; it shows how little the human race has come in 1500 years. Augustine's struggles are our struggles.

Two points of interest are worth mentioning here. The first is Augustine's mother, St. Monica. Throughout the book, Monica is an omnipresent figure in Augustine's life. She is a tireless Christian, and she does many things to try and bring Augustine into the faith. She prays incessantly, has visions and dreams from God that promise Augustine's conversion, and she follows her son everywhere he goes. Augustine gives much praise to his mother, but it's important to remember that he was writing this account after his conversion. At the time, Augustine must have been sick to death of some of her antics. He actually lied to her so he could sneak off to Rome without her, although she was soon on a boat so she could catch up with him. I also felt sorry for his father, Patricius. Dad wasn't really into the Christian thing, so Monica put on the pants in the family. Augustine even says that Monica made God the 'true' father in their house.

A second point of interest is Augustine's actual conversion. He seems to go through two of them in quick succession. The first is an intellectual conversion, as Augustine uses the texts of Neo-Platonic authors to prove to himself the fallacy of the Manichean theology. It seems the Manicheans believed in a Christ figure that was not fully divine, as well as the idea that God was a substance. Augustine shows how substance can be corrupted, making this idea totally incompatible with the idea of a perfect God. After all, if a substance can be corrupted, how can it be perfect? After the intellectual conversion, Augustine still can't totally believe because he can't give up the fleshly sin of lust with women. This second conversion finally comes about in the famous 'pick it up and read' incident in the garden. Augustine, wracked by his sins and on the verge of some type of mental collapse over his anguish, hears a child's voice singing, 'Pick it up and read.' Seeing this as a sign from God, he picks up Paul's Epistles and reads the first thing he sees in the book. He reads a passage about the evils of fleshly vice and his conversion is complete.

After this conversion, the rest of the book veers off on a tangent. Augustine examines the concept of time, in great detail, and writes an incredibly dense exegesis on the first parts of the book of Genesis. This section, with the exception of his discourse on time, isn't nearly as interesting as the account of his life and the fundamental changes he goes through as he tries to find the true way to live life. I do suspect that thousands have converted after reading this book because it speaks to every human on a fundamental level. The above description I've given doesn't even begin to cover the amount of information in this book. The Confessions is both beautiful and thought provoking and I would recommend it to anyone.

I do have a word of warning for those who are considering giving this one a shot. Avoid, like the plague, the John Ryan translation. It is wordy, dense, and not at all clear. Read this Penguin version, written by Mr. Pine-Coffin (great name, huh?). It is a clear and concise translation. It's one thing to struggle with ideas in a book, but why should we have to struggle with the syntax? Go forth and read, young man!

St. Augustine - Confessions

Ostensibly, the religious meditations of a fourth century Christian seem quite far removed from our lives. After all, what use would anyone outside of the Religious Studies department at a university have for Augustine's musings on the nature of God and the Christian church? A fair question and one that has likely kept many readers from enjoying the pleasure that is "Confessions." Often pigeonholed as an obscure religious document Augustine's "Confessions" is part memoir, part philosophy, and part doctrine.

At its most basic level, "Confessions" is Augustine's life story with a twist: he is telling it to none other than God. As one might expect from a story told to God, the plot of "Confessions" centers around Augustine's discovery of the Christian church. Like many stories it starts out far from where it ends up; before becoming a Christian Augustine spent many years as part of a vegetarian cult in which initiates spent their time harvesting food for elders whom then "purified" the food by eating it. Besides overcoming his allegiance to this cult, Augustine also had to conquer another, more familiar temptation, his mistress.

From the very first page it is starkly obvious that Augustine feels a great deal of contrition for these transgressions of Christian law. In fact, the depth of emotion that Augustine puts into his writing is one of the most interesting and most endearing parts of "Confessions." Through Augustine's unyielding honesty (even in the face of embarrassing, even scandalous, wrongs) we immediately understand that he has become the forthright, quietly confident person he aspired to be. It is clear that Augustine's detail and openness in "Confessions" does not stem from sensationalism, but rather from a desire to be as honest and instructive as he can be. Although Augustine was aware that "Confessions" would be published and made available to anyone who could get a copy (in the fourth century book distribution wasn't quite up to today's levels) it is quite clear that this book is for only one audience, God.

Yet while Augustine was sure that "Confessions" was written for God, he wasn't nearly as sure as to what God is, and a sizable chunk of "Confessions" is devoted to discovering just that. Augustine does make it clear what God is not; he spends some time ridiculing those who believed that God is nothing more than a huge spirit in heaven shaped like a man. One soon discovers that Augustine's concept of God is slippery, but that it involves some idea that God is everywhere at once, yet in a way that transcends common sense ideas of a three dimensional world. Augustine also spends some time on the nature of God's infallibility, specifically explaining why this is so, and even addresses the question (although, in my opinion, unsatisfactorily) of what came before God. More familiarly, Augustine also sees God as an entity that teaches people by letting them make mistakes, and as an entity that is always prepared to accept a believer once she finds her way to Christianity.

In addition to the nature of God Augustine's book covers several other areas of Christian belief. "Confessions" is liberally peppered with quotes from the Bible and these quotes are used to examine and interpret portions of Augustine's own life. For example, when describing the long and arduous path that brought Augustine to Christianity he quotes from the Bible that though "the ground should yield me thorns and thistles" he should "earn his bread with the sweat of his brow." These frequent quotations serve two functions. First, they describe and analyze events from Augustine's life (presumably in far more exact and aesthetic ways that Augustine's own words could). Second, the use and interpretation of these quotes brings to the reader an idea of Christian belief at this time. In this way "Confessions" serves as an important historical document, one that fuses man and religion through the electricity of the Bible.

The last three "books" of "Confessions" are devoted to an allegorical understanding of Genesis. The first of these three books deals with the nature of time and what separates past, present and future. I found this discussion the be a quite interesting digression from Augustine's book ad well worth my time. The next two books, however, are not nearly a interesting on a philosophical level and at times verge on tedium. There has been considerable debate over just why Augustine included this interpretation of Genesis in "Confessions"; some believe it was part of an unfinished interpretation of the entire Bible (which, given the space Augustine commits to Genesis would have been quite lengthy) while others see it as an appendix to "Confessions." Regardless of one's belief on the reason for these last three books, most seem to agree that they are superfluous and at best make for an awkward ending. As such they constitute the only major flaw I can find in "Confessions."

Before reading any St. Augustine, I had formed an image of him as an intolerant puritan, almost Taliban-esque. As an agnostic, I did not at all expect to find him a sympathetic figure. The "Confessions," however, reveal a warmly human, hugely intelligent man, relating his own open-minded spiritual journey, which included way-stops at Manicheeism and neo-Platonism. Augustine formulated his religious and ethical systems through careful deliberation and observation, aided by an epiphany or two; his is not a story of blind, unthinking faith or of mysterious visions. His concept of God seems little different from the Chinese concept of the Tao, and his concept of grace little different from the Buddhist concept of enlightenment. Thus, there is considerable interest in his viewpoint even for non-Catholics, non-Christians, and non-believers.

In addition, this book also constitutes an autobiography of material existence in the waning years of the Western Roman Empire, and thus should be of great interest to any classicist. Little examples: Augustine confirms that, at least around 400 A.D., the normal way to read, even among the most highly literate, was aloud; Ambrose's habit of reading silently to himself inspires considerable comment and speculation. We learn that high school students were rowdy, then as now. The Roman Emperor didn't seem to matter much in the lives of citizens.

The Penguin translation by Mr. Pine-Coffin is excellent and very readable. He avoids the archaic "thou's" that plague many translations. Regrettably, the cover material chooses to emphasize the translator's status as a Roman Catholic as his single most important attribute, and his introductory comments are likely to strike non-Catholics as intolerant. Skip over that, and get right into Augustine's writing itself.

Augustine's Confessions combines an intellectual biography and conversion story with apologetics and theology. It is an essential source document on one of the most highly regarded Western thinkers and for early Church history. As a conversion story, it sets the standard in Christian thought. In short, any serious student of Christianity cannot afford to miss reading this book.

The Penguin Classics edition, translated by R. S. Pine-Coffin, provides a good translation. However, you are going to get what you pay for. Like most books in the Penguin Classics series, this edition of the Confessions leaves a lot to be desired. It has a bare bone's introduction, no notes to help the reader understand obscure passages, and no index. This edition is fine if you want to read Augustine without the distractions of commentary. However, if you want to seriously understand the Confessions, spend some more money and get an edition with better support.

I decided to read this book to find out for myself what everybody was talking about, especially from being Catholic. I wanted to read the book that so long ago won over all of the philosophers of the time who considered Christianity to be a simpleton's system of life.
Right from the beginning of this book/autobiography I knew that I had in my hands something special. It is written with such brutal honesty and insight into St. Augustine's soul and mind. He pours himself out and into this work. It was completely refreshing to know that He/they so very long ago were dealing with the same searching the same longings and fascination that we /I do today. It is wondeful to feel the thoughts of St. Augustine who lived most of his life right in the heart of the dieng Roman civilization. This book is deeply spiritual, personal, and filled with a strong message of faith. But it goes beyond being religious or spiritual or preachy all of which it is as wll but it is a masterpiece. It is very thoughtful, personal, and well crafted. It is a great read for anyone whether Catholic, Christian, athiest or any other. It is the story of a man's life told by the very man who lived and experienced it. It tells the story of this time and this place told through the eyes of one who lived in it. I found some of the passages deeply moving. ANd yet other passages I found to be utterly hillarious. So read and enjoy the Spiritual, personal autobiography of one who lived a long time ago. For Christians one who lived closer to the actual life of Christ than to us today. It is clear to see after reading this work how it helped the Catholic Church and Christianity itself take-off with such passion and intellectual backings.

St. Augustine's Confessions is a treasure of Western literature, and, much like the book of Job and the Psalms, really belongs to the heritage of the entire culture and has transcended sectarian importance. That is not to say that these books are not religiously important--of course they are, and the Confessions perhaps even more so to a confessing Christian. Much of what the entire Western church still believes comes straight from the mind and pen of St. Augustine, and to understand his mind one really needs to read the Confessions. Nearly the entire orthodox Catholic tradition of fall-redemption theology sprung full-formed from Augustine's mind, which can be seen in his allegorical interpretaiton of Genesis 1, the section that ends the Confessions and gives them an "unfinished" quality. Augustine was a well-known and revered man when he wrote this book, and rather goes out of his way to depict himself as a youthful deviant to his followers. This is both a heuristic device and what Ausgustine really believes about himself; he is interested in his flock realizing his own fallenness and finitude, and seeing it in themselves as well. A brilliantly modern book for fourth-century fare, it is amenable (at the risk of anachronism)to a multitude of interpretations. Here one can find existential angst, control-dramas, the quest for and the overturning of the ego-self, and an almost pathological study of human guilt (it has been quipped that if the Saint from Hippo had had a good psychotherapist, the Church might have been spared nearly two millennia of sexual dysfunction). Augustine's conversion in the garden reads almost like a kensho experience in Zen. Read the book and draw your own conclusions, but never forget that, as you read, you are sitting at the feet of (and in judgement of) one of the sharpest minds ever produced in Latin Christianity. He writes, "For although I cannot prove to mankind that these my confessions are true, at least I shall be believed by those whose ears are opened to me by love" Book 10.3, and whether or not your ears are open to him in love, they should at least be open. Augustine always has something to say to the careful reader, and no less a careful reader than Derrida lui-même is an inveterate reader and student of Augustine's. Quite a compliment from a reader who certainly does not share Augustine's faith concerns....

I'm not a religious scholar, let me say that from the beginning. I found this a moving, fractured, and ultimately worthwhile reading experience.

First, let me explain what I mean by "fractured". The Confessions are split into (roughly) two sections. The first section is autobiography (books 1-10). The second section (books 11-13) is a series of meditations and explorations of Genesis. My own confession is that I really struggled with books 11-13 in a way that I did not with 1-10.

The autobiographical sections are surprisingly accessible and disarmingly human. He describes the teenage experience so well it is difficult to believe it was written so long ago. At other times (his feelings about theater) the difference in time and culture are written clearly in the pages.

It may be that on rereading, I would appreciate the thoughts on Genesis more. I have the sneaking suspicion the heart of the book may be in those texts. But it was a little too much for me to grasp, this first time around.

Recommended, certainly.

I first came across St. Augustine's "Confessions" when I was a freshman in college. It was a monumental experience in terms of both the content of his writing and the freshness and relevance of his writing style. After re-reading them again recently, I am still struck with how contemporary the book feels. Aside from many of its 4th century particularities, the concerns that St. Augustine had and the way he frankly and honestly dealt with them could be lifted from almost any contemporary tell-all autobiography. The biggest exception is the fact that "Confessions" is a quintessentially and irreducibly a religious text, and in an age when religious considerations are largely pushed towards the margins of their life stories, it is refreshing and uplifting to see what would a life look like for someone who took them very seriously and committed himself to reorganizing one's whole life around the idea of serving God wholly and uncompromisingly. "Confessions" is a very accessible text, and for the most part it does not deal with theological and philosophical issues. The exception is the latter part of the book, which are almost exclusively dedicated to those topics. You may want to skip those at the first reading, but I would encourage you to read them nevertheless. Maybe the very inspiring and uplifting story of St. Augustine's conversion to Christianity can lead you into deeper considerations about your faith or the meaning of life in general. I cannot think of a better introduction to those topics than "Confessions," nor of a better guide than St. Augustine.

St. Augustine's Confessions is a masterpiece of literature. One of the first books ever written from an introspective first-person point of view, it is an intensely personal glimpse into one man's mind, soul, and relationship with God.

The first nine of Confessions' thirteen books are the story of Augustine's life, beginning with his birth and early education. He recounts his sinful lifestyle and his mother's constant grief and prayers for him, and he praises God for faithfully seeking him until at last he was converted to Christianity.

Books ten through thirteen explore the mind, the memory, the nature of time, and the interpretation of Genesis 1. Augustine displays his intellectual brilliance the most in these books, sometimes almost leaving the reader in the dust. The insights and opinions he offers, however, are ingenious.

The entirety of Confessions is written with such eloquent style one can only conclude that his expensive education to be a master of rhetoric paid off. Some of the passages are so beautifully written that you have to stop, reread it, and think about it.

Confessions is a challenge to read, but it is well worth it. Its depth, vulnerability, and beauty are seldom, if ever, matched.

As an agnostic, it might seem strange that I found this book so deeply moving. Augustine's autobiography describes a process of conversion from a skeptical and unbelieving perspective. Regardless of whether the reader is a believer of God or not, this book is a fascinating read on both an intellectual and spiritual level. His writings remain as fresh today as they did when they were originally written -- a true sign that this book is timeless. This book is a must read for anyone serious about his own spirituality.