Augustine

"The reader who has never met Augus-tine before ought to go first of all to the Confessions," reflected the Trappist monk and scholar Thomas Merton. "Augustine lived the theology that he wrote. . . . He experienced the reality of Christ living in his own soul." Saint Augustine, the celebrated theologian who served as Bishop of Hippo from a.d. 396 until his death in a.d. 430, is widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in the Western world. Written in the form of a long prayer addressed directly to God, Augustine's Confessions, the remarkable chronicle of his conversion to Christianity, endures as the greatest spiritual autobiography of all time. "Augustine possessed a strong, capacious, argumentative mind," wrote Edward Gibbon. "He boldly sounded the dark abyss of grace, predestination, free-will, and original sin." And the eminent historian Jaroslav Pelikan remarked: "There has, quite literally, been no century of the sixteen centuries since the conversion of Augustine in which he has not been a major intellectual, spiri- tual, and cultural force."

The Confessions of Saint Augustine

Augustine of Hippo city of god

Confessions

Dana Kraft

If you are thinking of reading this book, don’t cheap out and read a free translation in the public domain. I tried that on several occasions and just couldn’t get into it. This translation, however, hooked me almost immediately. I was surprised by how modern and relevant much of it feels. I’m going to have to revisit this again in the near future.

Donald

What an amazing and strange book. How does he go from his spiritual autobiography/retelling of the Aeneid at the beginning to the allegorical exegesis of Genesis 1 at the end?

One of my tutors at St. John's College, Howard Zeiderman, wrote an essay about why Confessions is the best of the so-called 'great books': http://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/files/...

Saint Augustine

Henry Chadwick

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. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

The Confessions

Niki Sotiropoulou-Nassika

C Fernando Maciel 

Ryan Haber

coriander

Nicholas Charriere

Seth Kalback

Reinier Terblanche

Ben Radford

Arron Kau

Kaela Childers

Translated by a nun of the Benedictine order, the immortal autobiography of the fourth-century Bishop of Hippo, a founder of the Christian church, traces his journey from licentious youth to Christian missionary. Original. 15,000 first printing.

The Confessions of Saint Augustine

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