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Confessions: Modern, Updated Translation
Confessions (c. 397-400 AD) is Augustine of Hippo's revolutionary spiritual autobiography that transformed both Western literature and Christian thought. Written as an extended prayer to God, this intimate work traces Augustine's journey from sinful youth through philosophical wanderings to dramatic conversion, creating the first true exploration of inner consciousness in Western literature.
We have updated this timeless classic into a modern, updated english translation so anyone can understand it.
The work unfolds across thirteen the first nine narrate Augustine's life chronologically, the tenth examines his present state, and the final three offer philosophical and theological reflections. Beginning with his childhood in North Africa, Augustine recounts his educational development, sexual struggles, and nine-year adherence to Manichaeism. He details his professional success as a teacher of rhetoric while describing his ongoing spiritual restlessness, memorably captured in his "You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."
What distinguishes this work is Augustine's unprecedented psychological depth and spiritual honesty. Unlike earlier ancient biographies focusing on external achievements, Augustine examines his inner motivations and emotions with remarkable candor. His famous analysis of stealing pears simply for the thrill of wrongdoing provides profound insight into human sinfulness, while his descriptions of grief over his friend's death and his complex relationship with his mother Monica reveal his emotional complexity.
The narrative culminates in Book VIII with Augustine's dramatic conversion in a Milanese garden, where hearing a child's voice saying "take up and read" leads him to a decisive passage in Paul's epistle. This moment resolves the intellectual and moral tensions developed throughout the preceding books. The final sections move beyond autobiography to profound reflections on memory, time, and biblical interpretation, demonstrating Augustine's philosophical sophistication.
"Confessions" established several theological frameworks that would profoundly influence Western Christianity, particularly regarding original sin, divine grace, and predestination. Augustine portrays salvation not as human achievement but as God's gracious pursuit of the sinner, famously "Grant what you command, and command what you will."
The enduring influence of this work extends across disciplines—religious, literary, philosophical, and psychological. Modern readers continue to find in Augustine's introspective narrative a remarkably contemporary voice that speaks to universal human experiences of desire, struggle, and transformation, while establishing a model of autobiography that examines the interior life with unflinching honesty.
About the AuthorAugustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) was a towering intellectual figure whose writings profoundly shaped Western Christianity and philosophy. Born in Thagaste, North Africa, to a Christian mother (Monica) and pagan father, Augustine received classical education before teaching rhetoric in Carthage, Rome, and Milan. After exploring various philosophical systems and living with a concubine for years, he experienced dramatic conversion to Christianity in 386 AD. Returning to Africa, he became bishop of Hippo Regius, where he produced numerous influential works addressing theological controversies, biblical interpretation, and Christian philosophy. Beyond "Confessions," his "City of God" established a Christian view of history, while his writings on grace, free will, and original sin deeply influenced Western theology.
We have updated this timeless classic into a modern, updated english translation so anyone can understand it.
The work unfolds across thirteen the first nine narrate Augustine's life chronologically, the tenth examines his present state, and the final three offer philosophical and theological reflections. Beginning with his childhood in North Africa, Augustine recounts his educational development, sexual struggles, and nine-year adherence to Manichaeism. He details his professional success as a teacher of rhetoric while describing his ongoing spiritual restlessness, memorably captured in his "You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."
What distinguishes this work is Augustine's unprecedented psychological depth and spiritual honesty. Unlike earlier ancient biographies focusing on external achievements, Augustine examines his inner motivations and emotions with remarkable candor. His famous analysis of stealing pears simply for the thrill of wrongdoing provides profound insight into human sinfulness, while his descriptions of grief over his friend's death and his complex relationship with his mother Monica reveal his emotional complexity.
The narrative culminates in Book VIII with Augustine's dramatic conversion in a Milanese garden, where hearing a child's voice saying "take up and read" leads him to a decisive passage in Paul's epistle. This moment resolves the intellectual and moral tensions developed throughout the preceding books. The final sections move beyond autobiography to profound reflections on memory, time, and biblical interpretation, demonstrating Augustine's philosophical sophistication.
"Confessions" established several theological frameworks that would profoundly influence Western Christianity, particularly regarding original sin, divine grace, and predestination. Augustine portrays salvation not as human achievement but as God's gracious pursuit of the sinner, famously "Grant what you command, and command what you will."
The enduring influence of this work extends across disciplines—religious, literary, philosophical, and psychological. Modern readers continue to find in Augustine's introspective narrative a remarkably contemporary voice that speaks to universal human experiences of desire, struggle, and transformation, while establishing a model of autobiography that examines the interior life with unflinching honesty.
About the AuthorAugustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) was a towering intellectual figure whose writings profoundly shaped Western Christianity and philosophy. Born in Thagaste, North Africa, to a Christian mother (Monica) and pagan father, Augustine received classical education before teaching rhetoric in Carthage, Rome, and Milan. After exploring various philosophical systems and living with a concubine for years, he experienced dramatic conversion to Christianity in 386 AD. Returning to Africa, he became bishop of Hippo Regius, where he produced numerous influential works addressing theological controversies, biblical interpretation, and Christian philosophy. Beyond "Confessions," his "City of God" established a Christian view of history, while his writings on grace, free will, and original sin deeply influenced Western theology.
252 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 6, 2025
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About the author
Augustine of Hippo
3,316 books2,042 followersEarly 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
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
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