Harvard Classics Volume 7: Confessions of St. Augustine, Imitations of Christ

by Charles William Eliot (Editor), Augustine of Hippo, Thomas à Kempis

The origin of the autobiographical tradition, the Confessions of St. Augustine, of one of the great Fathers of the Church, traces a dialogue with his God and a journey toward rising above one's self.

The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas a Kempis, is a pastiche of biblical and Catholic passages attributed to a humble scribe, and remains the most influential of Christian devotional writings.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Classics, Christianity, Philosophy, Faith

369 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1909

About the author

Charles William Eliot was an American academic who was selected as Harvard's president in 1869. He transformed the provincial college into the preeminent American research university. Eliot served the longest term as president in the university's history.

Reviews

[Tyler J McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - The Confessions are always wonderful, in it I feel we all become more aware of the human condition to the divine and are horrified and comforted by what we see. The Imitation of Christ was interesting; I felt like I read 200 pages of scolding by a father to a son. Yet, it remained encouraging in many moments, and I feel I would be best served as a spiritual "life raft" of sorts. When struggling with anything, a quick two-page exhortation would be edifying to the soul and reorienting to the struggler. Despite this, however, I found a lot of the writing to be directed towards a monastic lifestyle, away from the active role we are supposed to play in life. Really interesting pairing of these two readings.

[Jeannine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this for a class and I'm glad I did. It's not easy going but a great look into the thinking of the day.

[Robert Engle · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Confessions is quite well written for a religious book. Probably because Augustine was quite well educated before falling into idiocy. His arguments against his previous beliefs apply to his later beliefs, he just chooses to believe one then the other. It seems a big part of his conversion was the sincerity of the Christians he was talking too. Just go to a UFO convention if you want to know why sincerity is a bad judge of truth.
The Imitation of Christ is a book of horrendous advise. Chapter after chapter of bad advice. I went chapter by chapter in both the Benham translation and Dover Thrift Edition and am glad I did. While the Benham was harder to read most all the time there were quite a few chapters where it was much clearer than the Dover.

[Harry Man · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the content somewhat but the old English tended to slow me down at times. What I did enjoy was reading the thoughts of an early Christian and to see the struggles that are no different than what we struggle with today but also how Christ is the same! Glad I read it but probably read it again.

[Kathryn B · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for confessions

[Kimberly]

The Confessions of St Augustine is amazing. This book is important for Christians to read, because he who has been designated a Saint had a pretty colorful background before his conversion. This book is important for history lovers in general because it gives many insights into life in the late Roman Empire. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis ... I'll let you know what I think of it when I finish reading it.

[David Redden · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I'm not down with all the theology, the Confessions of St. Augustine is interesting and inspiring in a way that kind of sneaks up on you. Imitation of Christ is illuminating for sure in the sense that it provides excellent insight into influential religious thought at the time. The focus on mortification made it difficult for me to hang, but I made it through and I'm glad I did.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saint Augustine of Hippo gives a history of his life in the form of a long montolog to God. In it, he examines the different stages of life and the actions of people as they mature. At times very difficult to read, it still helped me look at my faith as a Catholic. The Bible is easier to read.