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Saint Augustine (354–430)

Author of The Confessions of St. Augustine

1,935+ Works 58,039 Members 361 Reviews 95 Favorited

About the Author

Saint Augustine was born to a Catholic mother and a pagan father on November 13, 354, at Thagaste, near Algiers. He studied Latin literature and later taught rhetoric in Rome and Milan. He originally joined the Manicheans, a religious sect, but grew unhappy with some of their philosophies. After show more his conversion to Christianity and his baptism in 387, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, and he framed the concepts of original sin and just war. His thoughts greatly influenced the medieval worldview. One of Augustine's major goals was a single, unified church. He was ordained a priest in 391 and appointed Bishop of Hippo, in Roman Africa, in 396. Augustine was one of the most prolific Latin authors in terms of surviving works, and the list of his works consists of more than one hundred separate titles. His writings and arguments with other sects include the Donatists and the Pelagians. On the Trinity, The City of God, and On Nature and Grace are some of his important writings. Confessions, which is considered his masterpiece, is an autobiographical work that recounts his restless youth and details the spiritual experiences that led him to Christianity. Many of Augustine's ideas, such as those concerning sin and predestination, became integral to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. In the Catholic Church he is a saint and pre-eminent Doctor of the Church, and the patron of the Augustinians. He is the patron saint of brewers, printers, and theologians. Augustine died on August 28, 430. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: Agustn, Augustine, Augustine, Avguštin, Augustīns, Augustinus,, Agustin San, St Augstine, S. Agostino, San Agustin, San Agustín, sant Agustí, ST. AGUSTINE, Augustine of, S. Augustine, Of Augustine, SAN AUGUSTIN, Sant Agustí, San Agustín, H. Augustinus, svat Augustin, St. Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Augustine, Sant Augustne, San Augustine, Sant'Agostino, Santo Agustín, Szent Ágoston, Saint Agustine, Saint-Augustin, Szent Ágoston, Sant' Agostino, Sto. Agostinho, Saint Augustin, St. Auugustine, St.º AGOSTINHO, Saint Augustine, Saint Augistine, Santo Agostinho, Swiety Augustyn, Saint Augustine, Saint Augistine, Bishop of Hippo, Santo Agostinho, Sint Augustinus, Saint Augustine, Augustine Hippo, Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Agustí d'Hipona, Sankt Augustinus, Sfantul Augustin, Sfintul Augustin, (św. ; Augustyn, (św. ; Augustyn, Aurelio Agostino, svätý Augustin, Sfântul Augustin, Aurelius Agostino, Agostino d'Ippona, Agostino d'Ippona, Aurelius Augustus, AGUSTIN DE HIPONA, Agustií d'Hipona, helgon Augustinus, Agostno di Ippona, Aurelije AUGUSTIN, Agustin de Hipona, Święty Augustyn, Agustín de Hipona, Saint Augustine of, Aurelius Augustine, Agostino di Ippona, Augustin d'Hippone, Agostino da Ippona, Agostino da Ippona, Augustine of Hippo, St Hippo Augustine, Augustine of Hippo, Augustino Aurelius, Agustín de Hipona, Augustine of Hippo, Aurelius Augustine, Augustyn z Hippony, Agustín de Hipona, Aurelius Augustinus, Augostino d' Ippona, Avgustin iz Gippona, Augustinos Aurelius, Agostinho de Hipona, Augustine Augustine, Aurelius Augustinus, San Augustín, Augustin St Augustin, Aurelius Augustinius, אוגוסטינוס, Augustinus van Hippo, Augustinus van Hippo, (święty ; Augustyn, Aurelius Augustinius, Augustinus Hiponensis, svatý Augustin, Agostino (sant'), Augustinus Hiponensis, SAN AGUSTIN DE HIPONA, Agustin de Hipona San, San Agustin de Hipona, Saint Augustine Hippo, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. of Hippo Augustine, St. Aurelius Augustine, S. Aurelius Augustinus, sant'Agostino d'Ippona, Bispo Hipona Agostinho, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Augustine of Hippo, San Agustín de Hipona, St. Augustine of Hippo, San Agustín de Hipona, St. Aurelius Augustinus, St. Aurelius Augustinus, Augustne of HIppo Saint, ST. Augustine Augustine, santo Agostino d'Ippona, Augustin d'Hippone, Sant' Agostino di Ippona, Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Augustine of Hippo, アウグスティヌス, Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint of Hippo Augustine, Augustine of Hippo, Saint, Saint Aurelius Augustinus, Santo Agostinho de Hipona, Augustine of Augustine of, Szent Augustinus Aurelius, helgon Aurelius Augustinus, helgen Aurelius Augustinus, helgon Aurelius Augustinus, Blessed Augustine of Hippo, sanctus Aurelius Augustinus, Saint bp of Hippo Augustine, San Agustin (St. Augustine), bisbe d'Hipona sant Agustí, 聖アウグスティヌス, Aurelius Augustine of Hippo, Aurelius Augustine of Hippo, sant Agustí, bisbe d'Hipona, St Augustine Bishop of Hippo, ofHippoAugustine BishopSaint, San Agustín De Hipona, St Augustine Bishop of Hippo, القديس أغسطينوس, Santo Agust, Obispo de Hipona, sant i bisbe d'Hipona Agustí, S Augustine, Bishop of Hippo., Bishop of Hippo St. Augustine, Saint Aurelius Augustinus, bp, Aurelius Augustinus (354-430), S. Aurelio Agostino da Tagaste, Obispo de Hipona. San Agustín, Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine, Obispo de Hipona Santo Agustín, Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo Augustine Saint, Аврелий Августин, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis, Saint Augustine Bishop of Hippo, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis, saint augustine bishop of hippo, Saint Augutine, Bishop of Hippo, Obispo de Hipona Santo Agustín, Santo Agostinho, Bispo de Hipona, svätý Augustín, vesc. d'Ippona s. Augustinus, évêque d'Hippone saint Augustin, évêque d'Hippone saint Augustin, Hippo of, Augustine, Saint, Bishop, Saint in Catholic Church. Augustine, helgon Aurelius Augustine Augustinus, Sant' Agostino ; Saint Augustine, Obispo de Hipona Santo Agustín, Saint Augustine;St Augustine of Hippo, sant Agustâi, bisbe d'Hipona ( Jaime, Aurelius (v. Bruun Augustin, Niels W.), biskop av Hippo Aurelius helgen Augustinus, Saint Augustinus, Bishop of Hippo. Aurelius, アウレリウス アウグスティヌス, Αγ. Αυγουστίνος Ιππώνος, Kirchenvater Augustinus, Nordafrika Aurelius, évêque d'Hippone saint Augustin, Aurelius Augustine Bishop of Hippo [Saint Augustin, Блаженный Августин Аврелий, Блаженный Августин Аврелий, saint Augustin, évêque d'Hippone, St. Augustine (354 - 430 AD). Illustrated with Pai, Intro.) Augustine of Hippo (St. Augustine) (Willia, S. Aurelii Augustini Hipponensis. St. Augustine of Hippo, Bishop of Hippo. by Saint Augustine, E. B. Pusey (Translator),, Блж Августин Аврелий епископ Гиппонийский, Augustin d'Hippone (DZ354-430)philosophe - théologien - Berbère - père de l'Eglise - néoplatonisme chrétien -

Also includes: Aurelius (1), Augustin (1)

Image credit: Wikimedia

Series

Works by Saint Augustine

The Confessions of St. Augustine (0397) — Author — 21,166 copies, 136 reviews
City of God (0426) — Author; Author — 7,161 copies, 39 reviews
Confessions (Oxford World's Classics) (1986) 2,773 copies, 24 reviews
On Christian Teaching (0397) 2,086 copies, 11 reviews
The City of God: An Abridged Version (0426) 1,181 copies, 7 reviews
On Free Choice of the Will (0387) 1,075 copies, 6 reviews
The Trinity (0417) 974 copies, 3 reviews
The Enchiridion on Faith, Hope and Love (0420) 875 copies, 3 reviews
Confessions (Oxford World's Classics) (2008) 678 copies, 1 review
Confessions (Oxford World's Classics) (1997) 556 copies, 10 reviews
The Essential Augustine (1974) 447 copies, 2 reviews
Confessions of a Sinner (1996) 422 copies, 7 reviews
Augustine of Hippo: Selected Writings (1984) — Author — 338 copies
Confessions, Vol. 2: Books 9-13 (1912) 310 copies, 1 review
Augustine: Earlier Writings (1953) 292 copies
The Political Writings of St. Augustine (1962) 279 copies, 3 reviews
Augustine: Later Works (1955) 266 copies, 1 review
The Rule of Saint Augustine (1984) 215 copies, 2 reviews
Against the Academicians / The Teacher (1995) 189 copies, 1 review
The City of God. Books 1-10 (0426) 167 copies
The Confessions, Books 1-10 (1974) 164 copies, 1 review
Saint Augustine's Childhood (2001) — Author — 161 copies, 1 review
The Confessions of St. Augustine (Extracts) (2001) — Author — 144 copies
Basic Writings of Saint Augustine (1948) 143 copies, 1 review
On Grace and Free Will (2014) 129 copies
The City of God. Books 11-22 (0426) 122 copies
The City of God. Books 1-3 (1957) 119 copies
The Confessions / Enchiridion (2006) 104 copies, 1 review
Expositions on the Psalms. Psalms 1-32 (2000) 102 copies, 1 review
Homilies on the First Epistle of John (2005) 99 copies, 1 review
Of True Religion (1983) — Author — 98 copies
The City of God. Books 4-7 (1958) 98 copies
The retractations (0427) 92 copies
On Christian Belief (2005) 87 copies
The City of God. Books 21-22 (1972) 86 copies, 1 review
On the Psalms (1960) 86 copies
The Problem of Free Choice (1955) 86 copies
The City of God. Books 8-11 (1967) 83 copies
Expositions on the Psalms. Psalms 33-50 (2000) 81 copies, 2 reviews
The City of God. Books 1-7 (1950) 73 copies, 2 reviews
On Faith and Works (1988) 69 copies
On the Trinity. Books 8-15 (2002) 61 copies
The City of God. Books 8-16 (1952) 61 copies, 1 review
Saint Augustine's Sin (2003) — Author — 57 copies
The Confessions, Books 1-4 (1995) 54 copies
The City of God. Books 17-22 (1954) 51 copies, 1 review
The Teacher (0389) 50 copies, 2 reviews
Against Julian (1957) 49 copies
Letters of Saint Augustine (1992) 48 copies, 1 review
The Happy Life (1980) 47 copies
Saint Augustine's Conversion (2004) — Author — 45 copies
Letters, 1-82 (1951) 39 copies
Letters, 1-29 (1989) 39 copies
Sermons 51-94 (III/3) (1991) 37 copies
Letters, 165-203 (1955) 37 copies
Letters, 83-130 (1953) 32 copies
The City of God. Part I (2008) 31 copies
Letters, 1-99 (1997) 31 copies
Letters, 100-155 (2002) 30 copies
Letters, 204-270 (1956) 30 copies
Confessions book 13 (1981) 29 copies
On Order (2000) 29 copies
Letters, 156 -210 (2004) 29 copies
The City of God, Volume 2 (2014) 26 copies
Letters, 211-270; 1*-29* (2005) 26 copies
Walking into Light (1986) 22 copies
The Confessions / Against the Academics (2015) 21 copies, 1 review
Sobre a Mentira (1900) 20 copies
Lying (1994) 17 copies
Solilóquios E Vida Feliz (1998) 16 copies, 1 review
Newly Discovered Sermons (2000) 15 copies
The Confessions. Books 4-6 (1993) 14 copies
The City of God. Books 1-8 (1996) 14 copies, 1 review
A Doutrina Cristã (2002) 13 copies, 1 review
Soliloquis (1982) 11 copies, 1 review
Legacy of Faith Library (2017) 11 copies
St. Augustine's City of God (1963) 11 copies
The City of God. Books 9-15 (1996) 11 copies, 1 review
Vyznání (1990) 10 copies
De cura pro mortuis gerenda (2007) 10 copies
A Graça I (1999) 10 copies, 1 review
Sermons 51-116 (1983) 10 copies, 2 reviews
Cidade de Deus, A - Parte 1 (2013) 10 copies
Santo Agostinho. Comentário ao Gênesis (2005) 10 copies, 1 review
Carthaagse preken (1988) 9 copies
Natura del bene (1995) 9 copies
Tre ungdomsdialoger (2009) 9 copies
The Christian Combat (2006) 9 copies
My mother (1987) 9 copies
Comentario Aos Salmos. 51-100 - Volume 9 (2009) 9 copies, 2 reviews
The Magnitude of the Soul (1997) 8 copies
On Music (1997) 8 copies
De geest en de letter (2002) 8 copies
Comentário Aos Salmos. 101-150 (1998) 8 copies, 1 review
LE LETTERE (1969) 8 copies
Commento a San Giovanni (1969) 8 copies
Ideario 7 copies, 1 review
Sermons pour la Pâque (2003) 7 copies
The Confessions. Book 10 (2008) 7 copies, 1 review
De dialectica (1991) 7 copies, 1 review
SOBRE A MÚSICA (0387) 7 copies
Advent Homilies (2024) 7 copies
La Vergine Maria (1993) 7 copies, 2 reviews
Letters 6 copies
On the Good of Marriage (2015) 6 copies
On The Lord's Prayer (1962) 6 copies
Il maestro (1990) 6 copies
L'amicizia (2000) 6 copies, 1 review
Sermons sur l'Écriture (2014) 6 copies
Patrística. A fé e o símbolo (2013) 6 copies, 1 review
Seventeen Short Treatises (2009) 6 copies
Faith, Hope and Charity - I (1962) — Author — 6 copies, 1 review
On the Beatitudes (1962) 5 copies
De Musica (2017) 5 copies
Some loves of the Seraphic Saint (1979) 5 copies, 1 review
On Nature and Grace (2014) 5 copies
Confissões 5 copies
The Christian Life (1962) 5 copies
Dels Acadèmics. (1991) 5 copies, 1 review
La speranza (2002) 5 copies
Dialoghi 5 copies
The City of God. Books 16-22 (2011) 5 copies, 1 review
Maria «Dignitas terrae» (1988) 5 copies
O Livre Arbítrio (2019) 5 copies
Discorsi sulla Quaresima (2010) 4 copies
Sermons 4 copies
Il maestro e la parola (2004) 4 copies
St. Augustine 4 copies
Le bonheur conjugal (2001) 4 copies
The Confessions. Books 8-13 (1992) 4 copies, 1 review
De dialectica (1975) 4 copies
Regel voor de gemeenschap (1982) 4 copies
Opera omnia: 25 (1967) 4 copies
OPERE ANTIARIANE (2000) 4 copies
Gods zorg voor de wereld (0405) 4 copies
Essential Letters (2021) 4 copies
Soliloqui (2016) 4 copies
La citta di Dio. Vol III. (1991) 4 copies
Saarnoja (2005) 4 copies
Ketters en scheurmakers (2009) 4 copies
An Augustine synthesis (1945) 4 copies
Confissões - Vol. 10 (1997) 4 copies, 1 review
ENCICLOPEDIA XXXVI (2005) 4 copies
El sermón de la montaña (1976) 4 copies
Cartas 3 copies
DELS ACADÈMICS II (1991) 3 copies
Commento ai Salmi di lode (1986) 3 copies
Over de Drie-eenheid (2005) 3 copies
Sermons 3 copies
Tratados 3 copies
The Confessions. Book 11 (1998) 3 copies
Kirjeitä sisarille (2009) 3 copies
Soliloquios y Manual 3 copies, 1 review
Soliloqui (1998) 3 copies
On Predestination (2014) 3 copies
Del vero amore (2008) 3 copies, 1 review
Continence (1962) 3 copies
Augustin 3 copies
Tutti i dialoghi (2006) 3 copies
Det hvilende hjerte (1991) 3 copies
Faith, Hope and Charity - II — Author — 3 copies, 1 review
The Work of Religious (1962) 3 copies
Admonition and Grace (1962) 3 copies
Opere esegetiche (vol. 2) (1997) 3 copies
On Lying (2017) 3 copies
Trivium Augustinianum (1900) 3 copies
LA PREGHIERA (1981) 3 copies
Die Ordnung (1966) 2 copies
Liegen en leugens (2010) 2 copies
CONFISSÕES - SEM ORELHAS (2024) 2 copies
Sobre el tiempo (Las Confesiones) (2024) 2 copies, 1 review
Jumalan valtio 2 (2025) 2 copies
Ordine, musica, bellezza (1992) 2 copies
The quotable Augustine (2016) 2 copies
On the Trinity. Books 1-7 (1991) 2 copies
Agostino 2 copies
De fire et symbolo (1926) 2 copies
Homilías 2 copies
Obras completas de San Agustín (XXXV) (1984) 2 copies, 1 review
Het ware geloof (2020) 2 copies
Zaman Kavrami (2015) 2 copies
Sermones selecti (2015) 2 copies
O velikosti duše (2019) 2 copies
Postní promluvy (2023) 2 copies
DELS ACADÈMICS (1991) 2 copies
Pääsiäispuheita (1985) 2 copies
Soliloqui 2 copies
Saint Augustine 2 copies
Ciudad de Dios 2 copies
New Testament III (2024) 2 copies
A virgindade consagrada (1991) 2 copies, 1 review
SOLILOQUIOS (2006) 2 copies
Sobre la memoria (2020) 2 copies
La felicità (2011) 2 copies
Vedere Dio (lettera 147) (2019) 2 copies
Onde está o meu Deus? (1905) 2 copies
Opervm 2 copies
La bellezza (1998) 2 copies
Le eresie (2010) 2 copies
St. Augustine 2 copies
Vallomások (1974) 2 copies
Diálogo Sobre a Ordem (2000) 2 copies
La felicità (2003) 2 copies
Letters, 185-270 (2005) 2 copies
Opere antieretiche (2003) 2 copies
Il Giansenismo (1954) 2 copies
De regel (2024) 2 copies
The Usefulness of Fasting (1952) 2 copies
Om Ånden og Bogstaven (2008) 2 copies
Luis, Pio de. 2 copies
Solilocvii 2 copies
Operum 2 copies
Przeciw akademikom (2007) 2 copies
O Trójcy Świętej (1996) 2 copies
Patience (1962) 2 copies
On Almsgiving (1962) 2 copies
La Genesi (1988) 2 copies
Augustine Essentials (2009) 2 copies
El maestro (2013) 2 copies
Soliloquios (2016) 1 copy
O učiteľovi (1995) 1 copy
Il maestro interiore (1987) 1 copy
Pensieri (2005) 1 copy
Sul tempo (2013) 1 copy
Soliloquios (1993) 1 copy
Om kristen opplng (1998) 1 copy
˜La œvision de Dieu (2010) 1 copy
On True Religion (2024) 1 copy
Soliloquies 1 copy
Las veladas 1 copy
Sobre la felicidad (2022) 1 copy
Predici la Înviere (2010) 1 copy
Lettres 1-30 (2011) 1 copy
Confessions portatives (2009) 1 copy
Œuvres II 1 copy
Sermons 1 copy
CityofGod 1 copy
Antologia 1 copy
Prolegomena 1 copy
Sobre la viudez (2023) 1 copy, 1 review
Soliloqui 1 copy
Protiv laži (2013) 1 copy
Izpovedi 1 copy
Confesiuni 1 copy
La Pasqua (2013) 1 copy
Soliloquios y Manual 1 copy, 1 review
I soliloqui (1997) 1 copy
La vie heureuse (2000) 1 copy
Vyznání (2012) 1 copy
De Trinitate 1 copy
Sermons 1 copy
El Evangelio de San Juan (1990) 1 copy, 1 review
La giustizia (2004) 1 copy
Esistenza e persona (2004) 1 copy
Conoscere e amare (1991) 1 copy
La natura del bene (1998) 1 copy
La vita cristiana (2017) 1 copy
De Genesi ad Litteram (2023) 1 copy
Against Lying (2017) 1 copy
The Confessions Of St Augustine (Books 1-9) (1966) — Author — 1 copy
Continence 1 copy
Meditations 1 copy
Articles 1 copy
Les livres de la Foi (2016) 1 copy
Epistolae 1 copy
Augustinus 1 copy
Clero e vita in comune (1985) 1 copy
Tretton brev (2007) 1 copy
Henki ja kirjain (1982) 1 copy
Soliloquies (2013) 1 copy
La vera religione (1995) 1 copy
Revisions 1 copy
Continence 1 copy
Soliloquios 1 copy
Augustine Political Writings — Author — 1 copy
Soliloquies (2005) 1 copy
On the Trinity (2019) 1 copy
참회록 1 copy
I monaci e il lavoro / (1984) 1 copy
Ascoltami 1 copy
La risposta 1 copy
Mia Madre 1 copy
Il maestro interiore. (1987) 1 copy
La ciudad de Dios, 1 (1988) 1 copy
Meditaciones 1 copy
Tratados 1 copy
Against the Academicians (1942) — Author — 1 copy
Cyffesion Awstin Sant (1973) 1 copy
Sulla Trinita' (2013) 1 copy
Solilóquios e a vida feliz 1 copy, 1 review
Mia madre 1 copy
Discorsi 1 copy
The City of God (0426) 1 copy
Meine Mutter Monika (1989) 1 copy
The Confessions (0400) 1 copy
I soliloqui 1 copy
Brood om van te leven (2017) 1 copy
Vyznání 1 copy
Ensamtal (2025) 1 copy
Augustin (2000) 1 copy
(Libri X-XI) 1 copy
De maagdelijkheid (1988) 1 copy
Tanri Sehri (2021) 1 copy

Associated Works

The Canterbury Tales [Norton Critical Edition, 2nd ed.] (2005) — Contributor — 676 copies, 5 reviews
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas (2008) — Contributor, some editions; Contributor, some editions; Contributor, some editions — 517 copies, 2 reviews
The Age of Belief: The Medieval Philosophers (1957) — Contributor — 443 copies, 1 review
Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter (2009) — Contributor, some editions; Contributor, some editions — 395 copies, 4 reviews
Faith of the Early Fathers, Volume 3 (1979) — Contributor — 374 copies
The Philosopher's Handbook: Essential Readings from Plato to Kant (2000) — Contributor — 235 copies, 1 review
God Makes the Rivers To Flow: Sacred Literature of the World (1982) — Contributor — 231 copies, 2 reviews
Western Philosophy: An Anthology (1996) — Author, some editions — 218 copies, 1 review
The Company of Preachers: Wisdom on Preaching, Augustine to the Present (2002) — Contributor — 201 copies, 2 reviews
The Trials of Theology: Becoming a 'Proven Worker' in a Dangerous Business (2010) — Contributor — 199 copies, 2 reviews
Man and Spirit: The Speculative Philosophers (1954) — Contributor — 195 copies, 1 review
Belief: Readings on the Reason for Faith (2010) — Contributor — 164 copies, 2 reviews
The Book of Love (1998) — Contributor — 150 copies
Faith of the Early Fathers [3-volume set] (1970) — Contributor — 129 copies, 2 reviews
The Penguin Book of Demons (2024) — Contributor — 86 copies, 2 reviews
An Anthology of Latin Prose (1990) — Contributor — 75 copies, 1 review
God (Hackett Readings in Philosophy) (1996) — Contributor, some editions — 70 copies
Roman Readings (1958) — Author — 70 copies
The Consolation of Philosophy [Norton Critical Edition] (2009) — Contributor — 62 copies, 1 review
Witness of the Saints: Patristic Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours (2012) — Contributor — 30 copies, 1 review
Bible Explorer — Contributor — 1 copy

Tagged

Apologetics (246) Augustine (2,312) Augustine of Hippo (200) autobiography (939) biography (1,048) Catholic (312) Catholicism (358) Christian (441) Christianity (1,723) Church Fathers (780) Church History (701) classic (299) classics (702) Early Church (270) Historical Theology (137) history (518) Kindle (151) Latin (262) literature (213) Logos (238) medieval (165) memoir (330) non-fiction (1,021) Patristics (992) philosophy (2,235) religion (2,536) Saints (481) spirituality (348) Theology (3,069) to-read (899)

Common Knowledge

Canonical name
Saint Augustine
Legal name
Hipponensis, Aurelius Augustinus
Other names
Augustinus
Augustinus, Aurelius
Augustine of Hippo
Szent Ágoston
Birthdate
354-11-13
Date of death
430-08-28
Gender
male
Occupations
theologian
philosopher
rhetoric professor
Organizations
Roman Catholic Church (ordained 391)
Awards and honors
Doctor of the Church (1298)
Short biography
Augustine of Hippo (Latin: Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine or Saint Austin, was an early Christian theologian whose writings were very influential in the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. He was bishop of Hippo Regius (present-day Annaba, Algeria) located in the Roman province of Africa. Writing during the Patristic Era, he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in the West. Among his most important works are City of God and Confessions, which continue to be read widely today.
Nationality
Roman Empire
Birthplace
Thagaste, Numidia, Roman Empire [now Souk Ahras, Algeria]
Places of residence
Hippo Regius, Numidia, Roman Empire
Place of death
Hippo Regius, Numidia, Roman Empire
Burial location
San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro, Pavia, Italy
Map Location
Algeria

Members

Discussions

What's the role of reason in Faith? in Faith and Reason (April 2017)

Reviews

399 reviews
Oh Augustine, lingering in my periphery since I was a teenager. I almost bought your confessions when I was seventeen, it was there at the used bookstore in Toronto, but I think I went for Waugh instead. Augustine, looming large in my religious minor and illuminating the corners of my literary major. I always knew it was wrong not to read you and suffered in not having read you sooner. I thought that to read you would be toil and penance, that your Confessions would be uphill work worthwhile show more only in order to have one more trump card in my hand to lay down when boys in bars think they know more than they do. Augustine, my Augustine, who let me believe that you would be anything but pleasure?

In all honesty, when I started reading this book I couldn't stop talking about it to everyone around me. It must have been terrible. "HAVE YOU READ AUGUSTINE'S CONFESSIONS? IT'S SO GOOD! SO GOOD!" I keep doing this, this year. Picking up books that I have had on my radar since my teenage infancy and expecting them to be Hard Work but Good For Me. It's the most masochistic reading program ever. And then I get to them, and I find they are actually so good. People talk about the Confessions and War and Peace but they only ever talk about them being Important. Why don't they ever talk about them being Lovely? Why don't they ever talk about loving these books as books and not as seminal texts of the whatever period?

In this case I was bowled over by the prose, beautiful in this translation but with continual mentions that it's so much better in Latin, so much more full of rhymes and wordplay and euphony. Especially in the first half, both style and content seem so modern, even if most people aren't coming out of Manichaeism or trying to insist to their congregation that plays are probably Very Bad. I don't want to give the book back, which is a point I think the library would disagree with me on, meaning that I'm now earnestly developing a list of books that I've read from libraries and need to own, sooner rather than later.
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LIBRARYTHING FACE-OFF: St. Augustine's Confessions (Hippo Regius, the Roman Province of Numidia, 395 CE) v. Usher's Confessions (Jermaine Dupri’s studio, Beverly Hills, 2004)


Forget the Rumble in the Jungle. Kindly disregard Royce Gracie versus Ken Shamrock at UFC 5 Return of the Beast. Don't even mention the match between Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair at Wrestlemania XXIV where Shawn looked deep into his idol's eyes, mouthed the words "I'm sorry. I love you," and then delivered the final show more Sweet Chin Music that ended Flair's career. You haven't seen carnage till you've seen these two heavyweights of the mea culpa milieu go head to head


IN THIS CORNER


Augustine: Catholic Bishop of Hippo, noted theologian, former hard partier and poster boy for wisdom coming from excess


Usher: R&B crooner, sex symbol, nine-time Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper


BACKGROUND


Augustine: Born into the middle-class family of Patricius, a pagan, and Monica, a Christian. Two brothers. Educated in Latin, which he liked, and Greek, which he hated because the masters beat him


Usher: Born in Dallas to Jonetta Patton and Usher Raymond III. Grew up in Chattanooga with his mother and stepfather; joined the church choir at age 9, launching his singing career


Edge: AUGUSTINE


BROS


Augustine: Nebridius, Alypius, Simplicianus, Vecundus, Ambrose of Milan


Usher: Lil Jon, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Just Blaze, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber


Edge: USHER


HOS


Augustine: Famously debauched in his younger days, he kept several mistresses, including a young Carthaginian woman who bore his son Adeodatus and whom he cold kicked out the house when he converted. Celibate after his conversion, as far as we know


Usher: TLC’s Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, Naomi Campbell, and wife Tameka Foster, with whom he has two children, Usher Raymond V and Naviyid Ely Raymond, and from whom he recently filed for divorce


Edge: USHER. Google Chilli Thomas if you don’t believe me


LIFECHANGING MOMENT


Augustine: The moment in the garden when he had fallen away from Manicheanism but wasn’t yet ready to embrace Christianity, and he was trying to figure out how to overcome his doubts and a supernatural voice whispered “come read, come read!” and he went to the Bible and the royal road to the priesthood opened up


Usher: Competing on Star Search at age 13, leading to a contract with LaFace Records and the release of his self-titled debut produced by Sean then-“Puff Daddy” Combs


Edge: AUGUSTINE


HOBBIES


Augustine: Gettin’ down with the ladies, boozing, talking to other very serious young men about the nature of being, basking in God’s love, converting the nonbeliever


Usher: Looking gooooooood in a tuxedo, man


Edge: USHER


HARD KNOX


Augustine: Oedipal relationship with mother led to lifetime of guilt only overcome by joining the ministry and giving up his favourite thing (bangin’)


Usher: None. Usher has led the perfect life


Edge: AUGUSTINE


FOIBLES


Augustine: Spent much of his youth in the clutches of a cult that forced the lay believers to cook special meals for the spiritual elite to help them bring forth the little pieces of God that resided in their flesh (where do they come out from?)


Usher: Stuck by his wife after she suffered cardiac arrest and was put into a medically induced coma, but served her with divorce papers immediately upon her recovery


Edge: USHER


GIVIN BACK


Augustine: Helped bring thousands to the light of Christ


Usher: Founder of New Look, a charity that has rebuilt sections of New Orleans financed by the sale of Usher-brand “Love 4 Life” dog tags; in 1999, participated in Challenge for the Children, a charity basketball game hosted by the members of ‘Nsync


Edge: USHER


FAMILY MATTERS


Augustine: Didn’t really care when his dad died, or his son; loved his mother creepily


Usher: Promises in “Prayer for You (Interlude)” to always be there for his son and love him


Edge: USHER


SPECIAL SKILLS


Augustine: Trained as a professor of rhetoric and speechmaker on formal occasions


Usher: Gonna give it to you nonstop, and he don’t care who’s watching


Edge: USHER


IMPACT


Augustine: Widely considered the first autobiography in the Western world, an influential work of Christian thought, the most complete record of an individual life from the fourth century, and an important turning point in the fight against Manicheanism


Usher: The second-best selling album of the 2000’s, winner of a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album, and one of the first R&B albums to incorporate elements of crunk-era hip hop


Edge: AUGUSTINE


LEGACY


Augustine: 1000 years as a style model for composition classes; still studied in its own right as one of the classics of Western civilization. On the other hand, he can also be blamed for A Million Little Pieces


Usher: His 2008 followup Here I Stand contains “Love in this Club”, the best R&B song of the past and maybe the next 20 years


Edge: USHER


KEY CONFESSION


Augustine: He stole those fucking pears. He had better pears at home and he did it anyway! Depraved


Usher: Bout that chick in part one he told yall he was creepin wit … she’s three months pregnant and she’s keepin it


Edge: USHER


VIEWS ON …


SEX:


Augustine: "I intend to remind myself of my past foulnesses and carnal corruptions, not because I love them but so that I may love you, my God"


Usher: “Now put it on me baby till I say ooowee / and tell me to shut up before the neighbours hear me / this is how it feels when you do it like me / we’re trading places” –Trading Places


Edge: USHER


MEMORY:


Augustine: “Great is the power of memory, a fearful thing, a deep and boundless manifoldness; and this thing is the mind, and this I am myself. What am I then? What is my nature? A life various and manifold, and exceeding immense. Look, the plains and caves and caverns of my memory are innumerable and innumerably full of innumerable kinds of things, either through images, as all bodies; or by actual presence, as in knowledge of the arts; or by certain notions or impressions, as the emotions and feelings of the mind which—even when the mind does not feel—the memory retains. And whatever is in the memory is also in the mind—over all these different memories I run or I fly: I dive into memories on this side and on that, reaching as far as I can, and there is no end to them. So great is the force of memory, so great the force of life, even in the mortal life of man”


Usher: “Wish I could throw it back / I want it the way it used to be / oh, oh / give me one more chance to make it work / it’s driving me crazy / cause I’m missing my baby / I’m goin’ outta my mind, I’m runnin’ outta time / I just wish I could find you girl” -Throwback


Edge: AUGUSTINE


CONSCIENCE:


Augustine: “Conscience and reputation are two things. Conscience is due to yourself, reputation to your neighbour”


Usher: “If I’m gonna tell it then I gotta tell it all / damn near cried when I got that phone call / I’m so throwed, I don’t know what to do / but to give you part two of my confessions / Sittin’ here stuck on stupid, tryna figure out / what when and how imma let this comeout my mouth? / said it aint gon be easy but I need to stop thinkin’, contemplatin’ / be a man and get it over with, over with” –Confessions Part II


Edge: USHER


WORSHIP:


Augustine: “You called me; you cried aloud to me; you broke my barrier of deafness. You shone upon me; your radiance enveloped me; you put my blindness to flight. You shed your fragrance about me; I drew breath and now I gasp for your sweet odour. I tasted you, and now I hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am inflamed with love of your peace."


Usher: “I’ll be your groupie baby / cuz you are my superstar / I’m your number one fan, give me your autograph / sign it right here on my heart” -Superstar


Edge: AUGUSTINE


SADNESS:


Augustine: “Everything on which I set my gaze was death …. I had become to myself a vast problem”


Usher: “It’s gonna burn for me to say this / but it’s comin’ from my heart / It’s been a long time coming / but we done been fell apart / really wanna work this out / but I don’t think you’re gonna change / I do but you don’t / think it’s best we go our separate ways” –Burn


Edge: AUGUSTINE


HAPPINESS:


Augustine: "This is my holy joy, which is your mercy you have given me, heedful of my poverty"


Usher: “Just copped your girl a brand new Rolex / but you can never find the time to spend at home / thinkin’ it’s gon keep her happy / when time is all she wanted all along / it’s the simple things in life we forget” –Simple Things


Edge: DRAW

WINNER: By a score of 12-7, the singer takes it. St. Augustine, you could write passages of intoxicating, orgiastic beauty, and you even had some interesting things to say; but mostly your ideas were ugly and awful, you were not a good person, and it's useless to pretend that the compelling way in which you expressed all this sex-disgust and hysterical licking of the divine boot doesn't still exert some pernicious effect on the Christian discourse to this day. I leave you with this stunning piece of 21st century excess, and much good may it due you:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiXbRBS5Z58
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Saint Augustine's City of God is proof that autism has always existed. This 1000+ treatise contains the answer to every theological question a 5th Century thinker could possibly come up with.

Is the relationship of the body to the soul more like a horse to its rider, or like a tea cup to its contents?

If we are to be restored to our bodies at the end of all things, what will happen if one person has cannibalised another, and thus had part of another individual's body become part of their show more own?

Will you still be fat in heaven? If we are to be resurrected without flaws, does that mean women will be resurrected as men, thus eliminating the "flaw" of being female.

Since sex requires lust, and lust is inherently sinful, how would Adam and Eve have procreated before sin was brought into the world?

Augustine's dogged determination in answering all these questions was only matched by mine in reading this book for the past eight months. Sometimes I had to read a passage more than once to get sense out of it - like the soul/teacup thing, which at first seemed like nonsense but actually did make sense on further thought (a rider is superior to a horse, and if removed from the horse, suffers no loss of substance, but if you pour the water out of a cup it's just gonna go everywhere).

A lot of these digressions can seem silly and tedious but you have to remember the time and place. We are in a declining empire, and Augustine is arguing against paganism. There's probably very few people alive today who sincerely believe what the ancient Romans did with regard to their gods, so the whole context of the argument is foreign to us. Augustine is clearly very well read, which is impressive in his time, since literacy and literature would have been harder to come by.

I was struck most by a single sentence in this tome, one which made me stop, feeling I had come to the very crossroads that western thought had once come to. In his argument about the degeneracy of the pagan way of life, Augustine states that "anyone should be free to do as he likes about his own, or with his own, or with others, if they consent". This is a negative to the pagan ways, spoken with enough feeling to show that he considered this attitude blatantly ridiculous.

It was Augustine's perspective that was stronger in the end, and Christianity's divine laws and militant sex-negativity became so ingrained in our society that we are only just starting to come back to the idea of "being free to do as one likes, with consent", and beginning to unpack our one-size-fits-all-and-if-it-makes-you-miserable-so-be-it approach to sex, gender, family structure...everything.

I felt a little grief in that moment. We could have had 2000 years of freedom and consent! Of course, it's likely Augustine was exaggerating the situation for emphasis - hoping to horrify his reader but instead making me wistful for a past that never existed. I doubt 5th Century society was as free for, say, women, or slaves, as that turn of phrase makes it sound (maybe it was only free men who got to do as they liked?)

Instead, Augustine touts a sanitised sinless society, one that existed before the fall and which will exist again after the resurrection, in which procreation takes place without lust, the act of insemination performed with the same disinterest as one might take out the garbage, and a naked body excites nothing but appreciation of God's wonderful creation. And what will we be doing in the after time, in that world free from sin and struggle and strife, in Augustine's state of "perfect felicity"? We will simply praise and appreciate God. Sounds great to him (apparently), sound horrible to me - a person who thrives on challenge and learning and independence.

Despite disagreeing with Augustine in many ways, I feel some affection for him. Who else would arrive at the single correct belief system by categorising all possible belief systems and systematically eliminating all the bad ones?
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One of the most, if not the most, unattractive books I’ve ever read.
Augustine’s self-pity and verbal self-flagellation was repugnant to this reader.
He’s crying out desperately for psychological help and I’m not convinced that he found it.

À propos:
“Only once have I ever encountered a translation that made such a difference, that so opened up for me a previously closed book. That was Frank Sheed’s translation of Augustine’s Confessions, which I found to be as living as molten show more lava. The most widely used translation of the Confessions is the one by a Mr. Pine-Coffin, and it is worthy of his name. It is a dead translation. Sheed’s is living.”
– Dr. Peter Kreeft
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