Confessions of St. Augustine of Hippo

by Augustine of Hippo, Anthony Esolen (translator)

Of all the autobiographies ever written by mere mortals, Confessions by Saint Augustine of Hippo is the greatest. In this masterpiece, you will find a doctor of the Church longing for the true Doctor of the soul, Christ. Taking us from Augustine’s roots in Africa to his encounters with his spiritual father Saint Ambrose in Milan, from his battle against his concupiscence to his famed conversion, Confessions is itself a veritable pilgrimage to the threshold of the new Jerusalem. Indeed, its end is not biography but a breathtaking meditation on time and memory, on the human soul and the material world, and on the creative and redemptive power of God himself.

In Dr. Anthony Esolen’s new translation, the esteemed translator and author seeks to retain and reveal the figurative by hewing as closely as possible to the literal, both in the significance of individual words and in the manner of the author’s expression. Confessions is a work of literary art, “one of the most stupendous ever wrought,” he says, immensely rich in insights, and intricate in its returning, again and again, to the questions of a soul in search of truth and of answers ready to be found, if we will only seek, and ask, and knock.

Confessions is like no other book you will ever read. According to Dr. Esolen, “The Confessions is one continued and coherent prayer, a profound profession of faith, and a plea for more, ever more wisdom, ever more love. It is artistic in its whole conception, in its parts and their arrangement down to the merest sentence. It is closer to the Gothic cathedrals that would grace Europe eight hundred years later than to anything that you or I might write about ourselves and our lives.”

In Confessions, the reader does more than encounter Augustine, the boy, the promising youth, the sinner, the teacher, the intellectual wanderer, the hesitant catechumen, and the Christian man set free at last. Through this book, the reader enters into his own spiritual journey, as we cry out to the living God in the depths of our hearts, “Let me know you, O Lord, who know me; let me know you even as I am known.”

Genres: Catholic

423 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 30, 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

[Jacob Benne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Augustine’s Conversion through this book is incredible especially his struggle in the garden. I also really enjoyed him speaking of St Monica and her death. The last bit can be a tough read, so really recommend books 1-9, 10-13 definitely not as necessary.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 11 was ironically measured by time.

[Taylor Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This work should be understood as requisite not only for Catholics, but for anyone studying philosophy. This is a masterpiece for a reason; incisive yet broad sweeping, St. Augustine’s Confessions is both humble and grand. The beginning stages are heavy as St. Augustine lays bare his life and all that weighs heaviest on his conscience. The later portions, focusing on theology and time are magnificent exercises in logic and critical thought.
The audio version narrated by Kennedy Hall is spectacular, he does a fantastic job with this masterpiece.

[Byron Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most important books ever written. Dr. Anthony Esolen’s new translation retains and reveals Augustine's masterpiece ... staying as closely as possible to the literal ...both in the significance of individual words and in the manner of the author’s expression. It is a readable and artistic translation.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The essential Christian autobiography. Augustine’s praises and tracing of total depravity in this work is helpful to understand what historic Christianity is and how to be faithful to Christ’s teachings and the apostles.

[Sandra Stukel · Rating 4 out of 5]

So difficult to read the last few chapters. It felt like it kept repeating the same thing over and over. Glad to have read it though