The Confessions

by Augustine of Hippo, Edward Bouverie Pusey (Translator)

Written between 397 A.D. and 400 A.D., The Confessions by St. Augustine is one of the most powerful books in Christian literature and tradition. The book is a collection of fundamental events in St. Augustine’s life as he finds his way back to Catholicism. The stories begin in his childhood with his devoutly Christian mother in rural Algeria during the mid-fourth century A.D.

As the stories continue, St. Augustine discusses his lavish lifestyle at the imperial court in Milan; his struggle with sexual desires; his eventual rejection of secular goals and marriage; and subsequently the rediscovery of his Catholic faith. This personal narrative was one of the first autobiographies used to describe the writer’s spiritual and emotional Christian experiences in Western literature. As such, it became an inspiration for others to write about their own personal Christian journeys throughout the middle ages.

243 pages, Paperback

Published August 27, 2023

About the author

Early church father and philosopher Saint Augustine served from 396 as the bishop of Hippo in present-day Algeria and through such writings as the autobiographical Confessions in 397 and the voluminous City of God from 413 to 426 profoundly influenced Christianity, argued against Manichaeism and Donatism, and helped to establish the doctrine of original sin.

An Augustinian follows the principles and doctrines of Saint Augustine.

People also know Aurelius Augustinus in English of Regius (Annaba). From the Africa province of the Roman Empire, people generally consider this Latin theologian of the greatest thinkers of all times. He very developed the west. According to Jerome, a contemporary, Augustine renewed "the ancient Faith."

The Neo-Platonism of Plotinus afterward heavily weighed his years. After conversion and his baptism in 387, Augustine developed his own approach to theology and accommodated a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed in the indispensable grace to human freedom and framed the concept of just war. When the Western Roman Empire started to disintegrate from the material earth, Augustine developed the concept of the distinct Catholic spirituality in a book of the same name. He thought the medieval worldview. Augustine closely identified with the community that worshiped the Trinity. The Catholics and the Anglican communion revere this preeminent doctor. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists, consider his due teaching on salvation and divine grace of the theology of the Reformation. The Eastern Orthodox also consider him. He carries the additional title of blessed. The Orthodox call him "Blessed Augustine" or "Saint Augustine the Blessed."

Santo Agostinho

Reviews

[Despond · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a bilingual Latin-English translations. It's hardcover and a bit expensive but it is worth it. I enjoyed reading The Confessions by St. Augustine. It is a biography of his life but it is really more than that. I found the way he wrote it, addressing it to God as he was narrating, praying and directing himself to Him was masterful. I actually have started doing this when I write. It isn't just a biography (some parts very specific about his immoral life before becoming a believer), there is a lot of theology and philosophy as St. Augustine explains things about Christianity. In his final chapters, he explains how God created the world based on Genesis. Not only does he talk about the literal sense of the text but gives an allegorical interpretation of it. I found a bit unsual that he finoshed the book with that.
I intend to read it again.

[Eliot Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would now like to name a child Augustus