The Confessions of Saint Augustine

Rating:
Summary: For All Who Seek
Review: Let me begin by saying that this book should be read by anyone seeking to live a better life, whether you are Christian or not, St. Augustine's representation of himself and his personal struggles are so human that they are easily accesible to people's of all faiths. That being said, don't expect to come to this book and not be challenged. This book is also the best introduction to St. Augustine and his theology so if you wish to read any of his other works, start with this one.

In my opinion, this book is really two books in one, and should be treated as such. The first book is composed of the first nine chapters and forms the autobiographical portion of the Confessioons, and the tenth through thirteenth chapters make up a concise overview of St. Augustine's basic theological views.

The first part is by far the easier to read, and depend on you are searching for by reading this book, this may be all you really need to read. St. Augustine sets out candidly for his readers the story of his life; the faith of his mother that initially so disgusted him and eventually aided in his conversion, his lusts and youthful errors, and his final dramatic conversion in the garden. Some claim that many of St. Augustine's gruelling criticisms of himself are exagerations ment as examples to his parishioners (he was the Bishop of Hippo) but irregardless the cincerity and spiritual earnestness of St. Augustine's writing shines through every page. It is amazing to think that someone who lived over 1500 years ago is so much the same as men today.

The second part is the most intellectual of the two and this is the one that contains most of the theology of the work, and while I will say that this section may not be for everyone (but after reading his autobiography I hope you will feel compelled to read this) this section should NOT be read without first reading the more spiritual autobiography. St. Augustine here provides an outline for such celebrated principles as the everlasting now, and such difficult questions as was God compelled to create the world. While he does not mention much of one of his other very famous an important theological principles here (i.e. predestination) this is still the best introduction his entire cannon of theology that is available.

I'd like to say a few words on the Vintage Spiritual Classic s edition. This is a handsome well-priced paperback volume that offers a good easily readable modern english translation. I shopped around when looking for an edition of this book, and while there are some editions that offer more notes, this is the only edition that offers refferences to the scriptual passages St. Augustine is referring to. It also contains an invaluable concise introduction and timeline to St. Augustine's life and the environment in which he lived.

If you liked this, and you have good reading stamina, chack out his other major work "City of God".

Rating:
Summary: Mixed Feelings
Review: Overall I would say it is a good read. I think I learned a lot and I don't regret reading it--it is a classic.

I found Augustine's account of his childhood, his exposure to the Manichees, and his search for truth to be really interesting.

However, toward the end of my reading I found things to get a bit tedious. I found his discussions on the human memory and his overwhelmingly long discourse on Genesis 1:1 to be tedious and somewhat awkward. I also find his allegorical interpretation of the creation to be somewhat far fetched.

Rating:
Summary: A sui generis autobiography.
Review: Saint Augustine of Hippo was born in 354 A.D. in the city of Thagaste, in the Roman North African province of Numidia, near nowadays Algiers. He died in 430, witnessing both the Fall of the glorious Roman Empire to the invasion of the Vandals in North África, and the immediate following of his ideas by maverick African Catholicism, ideas for which he fought all his life in the most passionate way. He was a giant in its own right, being the prodigal son of the feverishly Catholic Saint Monica and of Patricius, a nondescript and abusing father who was to be thrown out by Augustine to the corners in his many works, the same fate destined to his prematurely dead son Adeodatus (Latin for "Given to God"), his elder brother and his concubine, the woman he lived with for many years, according with the local tradition of the times, and whom he sloughed of in the most unabashed way. It is only in the Confessions that he seems to scourge himself on this issue, wryly acknowledging the evil done.

He was one of the most prolific writers of all times, and the mature man who wrote Confessions in his mid-life is a sharp counterpoint to the points-of-views adopted by him in his early life, when he avidly followed Manichaeism against the will of his devoted mother. He had traveled intensively trough the foremost cities of the Roman Empire and had many patronizing influent men, and ended up, one thinks, against his will, as priest and later bishop of the city of Hippo, near Thagaste, where he had the responsibility of counterbalance the powerfull influence the Donatist (after Donatus) sect exerted upon his flock, who argued that human perfection was possible and attainable in this very life and the chaff elements of the Church having to be erased in the most cruel and quick ways by bands of brigands that descended from the mountains to attack whomever opposed their doctrine. But, that was not the last time he had to combat ideas different from his, and we see Augustine again holding the sword with fierceness against resurgent Paganism and in his final days, against Pelagianism and Julian Eclanus. It is strange that such a combative man died a natural dead, escaping the atrocities inflicted by the Vandals of Genseric upon his many friends and followers.

In Augustine's view, to earn the eternal salvation, one had to confess all his past sins in the most unabashed and vocal way, and that is precisely the purpose of Confessions, to lay down all his many past sins, in order to be among the few who would be chosen by God Almight to enter upon the Eternal Kingdom. The book, originally written in Latin by a man who had little familiarity with the infuential Greek language, introduces a new style into the Literature of the time and is judged as one of the most influential autobiographies ever written . Along with his magnificent City of God, it erected the scaffolds of early Catholicism, and must be listed among one of the 100 most literary works of all times.

Rating:
Summary: Good but not the greatest Christian text
Review: The Confessions is one of the most popular texts from the Christian fathers. It is the famous story of how a pagan and sex addict went on to become one of the highest ranking clergymen and most influential thinkers in the early Catholic church.

The translation is quite thick and dense to get through but I'd imagine that the original is 10 times more so. If you don't trust your attention span, look for a more "accessible" version, if you want a challenge this edition's good.

A Christian, especially a Catholic will find the story inspiring, as it is often very appealing to the average person. His autobiography centers on the emotion and struggle that was related to his faith. The other main topic of the book is Augustine's theology. At this point, again a Catholic reader would probably be inspired, especially because it's possible to see the root of many modern doctrines laid out in the book.

More liberal Christian readers may find the book a little dry. The theology may seem a little heartless at times - after all, Augustine can be seen as the theologian who forever deprived unbaptised dead babies of heaven. However, his supplications to God and the like may still find a connection in a liberal reader.

The non-Christian reader (like me) looking for inspirational material, info about early church history and the basics of theology may be a tad disappointed. Personally, I didn't find the book that inspirational because it seems that each story is told in a fairly homiletical manner to reveal a fire-and-brimstone dogma. The philosophy in the book is quite good but not absolutely groundbreaking, from a non-Christian point of view. If you're looking for a more emotional and inspirational work from a Church father, Imitation of Christ would be a better choice.

Overall, a good book for everyone, although some readers will get much more out of it than others.

Rating:
Summary: For the patient reader with plenty of time
Review: 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!


Rating:
Summary: A Spiritual Autobiography - written by a Saint.
Review: This is a beautiful book even if you aren't familiar with the Saints. It opens like a flower as you read. It is completely about this wonderful man's own thoughtful analysis of his own emotional experiences. He reflects on his early life when he was actually a pagan worshipper, and then focuses on his conversion to the Christian faith. Once he converted Saint Augustine returned to Africa and set up a monastic community. What makes this book so special is that is told with the utmost candor and he holds nothing back. It is also a beautiful book in praise of God and how he changed Saint Augustine's life. Although religious in tenure, this is not a totally religious work. So many observations and thoughts that this man had in his lifetime (354 AD is when he was born). It is a book about friendships (both true and false), faith, celibacy and love.

Rating:
Summary: Spiritual autobiography
Review: To talk directly to God , my guess is Augustine learned from the Psalms. To tell his life story to God including the story of his own inner life and struggles in such a prolonged and detailed way he apparently learned only from himself. In any case in inner intensity, in moving description of human relationships, to his mother and friends, in reflection on Time and its meaning, and in his relation to God Augustine writes the work that will set the standard for all spiritual autobiography before and after.