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Confessions by Saint Augustine
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Confessions

by Saint Augustine

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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4th century (59) Augustine (453) autobiography (521) biography (561) Catholic (118) Catholicism (136) Christian (193) Christian Living (54) Christianity (638) Church Fathers (104) Church History (209) classic (135) classics (259) Confessions (48) Early Church (60) history (165) Latin (78) literature (114) medieval (71) memoir (198) non-fiction (382) Patristics (138) philosophy (644) read (53) religion (1,010) saints (112) spirituality (157) Theology (809) translation (54) unread (69)
  1. 21
    The Six Enneads by Plotinus (jpers36)
    jpers36: Plotinus was a major influence on Augustine.
  2. 22
    Early Christian Lives (Penguin Classics) by Carolinne White (Anonymous user)
  3. 23
    Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life by C. S. Lewis (2below)
    2below: For anyone interested in exploring spiritual autobiographies, C. S. Lewis' is worth checking out. Unlike Augustine, who covers the entire span of his life from birth to his conversion in adulthood, Lewis focuses on his childhood and young adult years and how his experiences during this time shaped the development of his spiritual life as he got older. I found Lewis' book a much quicker read than Augustine's, though both are very good.… (more)
  4. 02
    Late Have I Loved Thee by Ethel Mannin (lisanicholas)
    lisanicholas: Mannin's novel is modeled on the real-life spiritual autobiography of St Augustine of Hippo. Read the original!
  5. 05
    The Public Hating {short story} by Steve Allen (satanburger)
    satanburger: CONFESSIONS 6.8 (you'll see the similarities)
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English (56)  Spanish (3)  Portuguese (Brazil) (2)  Italian (1)  Dutch (1)  French (1)  All languages (64)
Showing 1-5 of 56 (next | show all)
I love this book. I am reading it again. A chapter a night. The sincerity and passion and earnest curiousity of the narrative is only slightly undercut by an intelligence that sometimes overcomes the rigid reading of Biblical texts that litter his writing.

In other words, Augustine works (right from the beginning of Chapter I) at manipulating the Biblical text to fit the constraints of his religious doctrine. He transforms both the Biblical texts and the doctrine creating a personal rubric for his spirituality.

Also, he makes me giggle. ( )
  dagseoul | Mar 30, 2013 |
Powerful in its honesty, but also hard for me as a nonbeliever to read. The constant reference to God occurs not on the scale of once every page, but more like every other sentence. The effect is to make me skeptical of even the best parts, such as the brilliant discussion of the nature of time and the excruciatingly honest effort to understand the theft of the pears, when they end up being folded into Augustine's religious narrative. Yet the passion of Augustine's thought and the force of his writing is impossible to deny and those insights that do hold relevance beyond the Christian are presented powerfully here. ( )
2 vote Audacity88 | Dec 4, 2012 |
Edition: // Descr: xxxi, 348 p. 17.5 cm. // Series: Everyman's Library : Theology and Philosophy Call No. { V.36 } Series Edited by Ernest Rhys Translated by E.B. Pusey. // //
  ColgateClassics | Oct 26, 2012 |
One of the most excellent books I've every read. From start to finish I was captivated letter by letter, word by word and so on.You do not have to be a catholic, or even a christian to enjoy this mans tail of finding faith. ( )
  a1abwriter | Sep 25, 2012 |
Notable for translating "Our hearts are restless..." as "Our hearts are unquiet..."
1 vote | SaintSunniva | May 9, 2012 |
Showing 1-5 of 56 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (157 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Saint Augustineprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bourke, Vernon J.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sheed, F. J.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Warner, RexTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Dedication
dedicated to parentibus meis
First words
You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised: great is your power and to your wisdom there is no limit.
You are great, O Lord, and very worthy of praise; mighty is your power and your wisdom is immeasurable.
'Vast are you, Lord, and vast should be your praise' - 'vast what you do; what you know beyond assaying.'
Great art Thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised;  great is Thy power, and of Thy wisdom there is no number.   [tr. F. J. Sheed]
Quotations
It became clear to me that things which are subject to corruption must be good, for if they were perfect, or not good at all, they could not be corrupted.
Corruption is an agent of harm but if it is not taking away from what is good, it is causing no harm.
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In his own day the dominant personality of the Western Church, Augustine of Hippo today stands as perhaps the greatest thinker of Christian antiquity, and his Confessions is one of the great works of Western literature. In this intensely personal narrative, Augustine relates his rare ascent from a humble Algerian farm to the edge of the corridors of power at the imperial court in Milan, his struggle against the domination of his sexual nature, his renunciation of secular ambition and marriage, and the recovery of the faith his mother Monica had taught him during his childhood. Now, Henry Chadwick, an eminent scholar of early Christianity, has given us the first new English translation in thirty years of this classic spiritual journey. Chadwick renders the details of Augustine's conversion in clear, modern English. We witness the future saint's fascination with astrology and with the Manichees, and then follow him through scepticism and disillusion with pagan myths until he finally reaches Christian faith. There are brilliant philosophical musings about Platonism and the nature of God, and touching portraits of Augustine's beloved mother, of St. Ambrose of Milan, and of other early Christians like Victorinus, who gave up a distinguished career as a rhetorician to adopt the orthodox faith. Augustine's concerns are often strikingly contemporary, yet his work contains many references and allusions that are easily understood only with background information about the ancient social and intellectual setting. To make The Confessions accessible to contemporary readers, Chadwick provides the most complete and informative notes of any recent translation, and includes an introduction to establish the context. The religious and philosophical value of The Confessions is unquestionable--now modern readers will have easier access to St. Augustine's deeply personal meditations. Chadwick's lucid translation and helpful introduction clear the way for a new experience of this classic.
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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 014044114X, Paperback)

‘As a youth … I had prayed to you for chastity and said “Give me chastity and continence, but not yet”’

The son of a pagan father and a Christian mother, Saint Augustine spent his early years torn between conflicting faiths and worldviews. His Confessions, written when he was in his forties, recount how, slowly and painfully, he came to turn away from his youthful ideas and licentious lifestyle, to become instead a staunch advocate of Christianity and one of its most influential thinkers. A remarkably honest and revealing spiritual autobiography, the Confessions also address fundamental issues of Christian doctrine, and many of the prayers and meditations it includes are still an integral part of the practice of Christianity today.

In his introduction R. S. Pine-Coffin discusses Saint Augustine’s intentions in writing his Confessions and issues of translation. This edition also includes a list of dates of events recorded in the Confessions.

(retrieved from Amazon Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:22:15 -0500)

(see all 8 descriptions)

This edition of the classic literary work of St. Augustine is translated by Oxford scholar Rex Warner and features a revised bibliography. In this autobiography, St. Augustine describes his journey from sin to sainthood, and examines all of humanity's great concerns including the ethical conflict between good and evil.… (more)

» see all 2 descriptions

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Five editions of this book were published by Audible.com.

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Four editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 014044114X, 0141018836, 0143039512, 0143105701

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