The Confessions of Saint Augustine (Image Book) [Paperback]

St. Augustine (Author), John K. Ryan (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Image Book | Publication Date: August 23, 1960

The greatest spiritual autobiography of all time, this classic work is a literary and theological masterpiece. John K. Ryan's masterful translation brings out the luster of Augustine's unmatched tale of his soul's journey to God.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In plain words--if you can accept them as plain--Christianity is the life and death and resurrection of Christ going on day after day in the souls of individual men and in the heart of society. It is this Christ-life, this incorporation into the Body of Christ, this union with His death and resurrection as a matter of conscious experience, that  St. Augustine wrote of in his Confessions."
--Thomas Merton


From the Hardcover edition.

From the Publisher

The greatest spiritual autobiography of all time, this classic work is a literary and theological masterpiece. John K. Ryan's masterful translation brings out the luster of Augustine's unmatched tale of his soul's journey to God.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Image; Image Books ed edition (August 23, 1960)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385029551
• ISBN-13: 978-0385029551
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,355 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( A ) > Augustine, Saint
  • #15 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Catholicism > Saints
  • #86 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Church History

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

117 of 140 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a fabulous prayer, March 12, 2000

By 

George Schaefer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Confessions of Saint Augustine (Image Book) (Paperback)

I will begin by stating that I am an estranged ex-catholic. But as a philosopher and writer, I always wanted to read The Confessions of St. Augustine. The famed quote of Give me chastity and continence but not yet is one that I have often used out of context with a wicked smile. It was great to read these lines within the intended framework of Augustines writing. This is a beautiful book. Augustines gradual turn toward God is glorious. This book beautifully illustrates the human ability for transformation and transcendence. Along with Meister Eckhart and Thomas Aquinas it gives one a good grasp of the early Christian and Catholic theory. As a cynic I must question what went wrong but my sarcasm should not detract from the sheer beauty and power of St Augustine. It brought me closer to God if not back to my original faith. Like the Bible itself, this is a book that many Christians in general and Catholics in specific really ought to read.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book (other than the Bible) that I have read so far, July 30, 2005

By 

Jesse Rouse (Kenosha, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Confessions of Saint Augustine (Image Book) (Paperback)

Let me just begin by saying that this book is brilliant. Augustine is one of the greatest thinkers that the world has ever known, and it shines through in this book. In this book, Augustine manages to cover an amazing number of topics, and does so in a beautiful way, filled with prayers to God.

I am not sure what the reviewer from June 10, 2005 is talking about. I think that they were reviewing the wrong book. This book is 400 some pages, not 90, and it is the complete version, not an introduction or abridgement.

Normally when I read books I underline quotes or passages that I think are especially good, or that I think I will be able to use in papers in the future. I then write the page numbers of the pages that have underlining on the back page. In this book, however, I ended up writing the pages numbers of pages I DIDN'T underline in on the back, since I underlined something on nearly every page. This book is absolutely filled with wisdom and knowledge of God and how He and the world He created works. This book inspired me to find a copy of The City of God, which I am now just beginning. If it is one-tenth as good as the Confessions, it will be well worth the money.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For the patient reader with plenty of time, July 22, 2004

By 

gccircle (Pleasanton, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Confessions of Saint Augustine (Image Book) (Paperback)

This book is a Roman Empire era classic, but not for the reader in a hurry. The translation appears to attempt to faithfully follow the original Latin long sentences and has therefore had to deploy advanced literary English to deal with the frequent multiple midsentence clauses. This is one of the reasons I found it slow going from a time perspective, but worth persisting with. One really good addition to the book is the notes section with all the Bible references; this is where having a cleric as the translator is clearly a bonus.

As other reviewers have pointed out, the book is a combination of St Augustine's personal life and his discussion of theology and philosophy. His personal life details include petty theft of fruit from an orchard, sitting around unemployed, youthful indiscretions, living a few years with his girlfriend until they split up, and his personal spiritual realignment from a heretical sect to the Catholic tradition. The Biblical references are mainly letters from the Apostle Paul, the Genesis story of the creation, and the Psalms, and there is nothing much from the Gospels or the Prophets. The philosophy component includes a review of his personal experiences with sense of time and memory which was no doubt drawn from his experience as a professional teacher of rhetoric and philosophy.

What one gains from all this is a great snapshot of what someone of religious conviction in the fading days of the Roman Empire saw and thought, including the experience of just scraping by to make a living. Overall, recommended for the patient reader!