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A review by theesotericcamel
Confessions by Saint Augustine
3.0
“Give me chastity and continence, but not yet!” - St. Augustine.
I understood the historical importance of this book before, in that it is one of the earliest written works by a Canonical Saint. What I wasn’t expecting was how candid and relatable these series of books would turn out to be. Especially the first 10 books that make up this 13 book series. (Each book is about 30 pages long.) But the explanation was in the title of the work all along. It is called “the Confessions of St. Augustine” or simply “Confessions.” And in it, St. Augustine details his less than saintly life before he found succour in the Catholic Church and how he was led to it. Doubtless, I think he sometimes exaggerates the gravity of his sins in certain places, but the effect is the same. We see Saint Augustine as a human just like us. One who struggles with wanting to do the right thing, but also seeking pleasure. One who wants to believe in the God of the Catholic Church but also has his doubts.
This book ended up being a lot of different things... Originally written in Latin, I read a modern English translation prepared by R.S. Pine-Coffin, and this helped make St. Augustine seem more approachable. To begin with it is an autobiography of sorts. Born in North Africa in 354 CE, we follow him growing up and finally heading to Rome in 383 CE, and finally his eventual return to Africa in 391 CE. We get a historical snapshot at what life was like then as well. Another interesting fact was that St. Augustine’s introduction to Christianity was not through what is now considered the Orthodox Church, but rather through a Christian Gnostic sect called Manichaenism. For many years he was an adherent of this religion and we get one of the earliest first-hand accounts of its beliefs from a former member. In fact, much of the later books deal with his conversion from a Manichaean to a Catholic Chrsitian. And in the process of the conversion he asks questions that many Christians often think about but are afraid to ask, such as the origin of Evil and the theology behind the Trinity and such. This makes this book one of the earliest surviving books about Christian theology and Eschatology. It is still a book that is referenced many centuries later by Theologians, Philosophers, and even Psychologists like C.G. Jung who references this book extensively throughout his various papers. It is interesting to note that Jung came to a similar but less religious conclusion as to the origin of evil.
The final three books of the “Confessions” are more or less an exegesis on the first few verses of Genesis, explored from a philosophical and theological point of view. They seem quite different from 10 books that precede it in that they do not seem deal with St. Augustine’s life story. Many earlier versions would only translate and collect the first 10 books as a result. But if you look at them with the idea of confessions in mind, while the first 10 books are a confession of his sins, the last three are a confession of his faith. The book was not meant to convert people. It was more of a guideline of how to convert. The audience for this book was clearly for one who was already interested in entering the Catholic Faith, but had doubts about being able to do so. The book assumes you already have a basic belief in Christianity and that should be taken into account when reading his philosophical explanations. However, his sense of anguish at trying to be a better person, being unable to immediately put aside his vices... Those ring universal regardless of faith, and it is what ultimately provided a window for me into this particular saint’s mind.
I understood the historical importance of this book before, in that it is one of the earliest written works by a Canonical Saint. What I wasn’t expecting was how candid and relatable these series of books would turn out to be. Especially the first 10 books that make up this 13 book series. (Each book is about 30 pages long.) But the explanation was in the title of the work all along. It is called “the Confessions of St. Augustine” or simply “Confessions.” And in it, St. Augustine details his less than saintly life before he found succour in the Catholic Church and how he was led to it. Doubtless, I think he sometimes exaggerates the gravity of his sins in certain places, but the effect is the same. We see Saint Augustine as a human just like us. One who struggles with wanting to do the right thing, but also seeking pleasure. One who wants to believe in the God of the Catholic Church but also has his doubts.
This book ended up being a lot of different things... Originally written in Latin, I read a modern English translation prepared by R.S. Pine-Coffin, and this helped make St. Augustine seem more approachable. To begin with it is an autobiography of sorts. Born in North Africa in 354 CE, we follow him growing up and finally heading to Rome in 383 CE, and finally his eventual return to Africa in 391 CE. We get a historical snapshot at what life was like then as well. Another interesting fact was that St. Augustine’s introduction to Christianity was not through what is now considered the Orthodox Church, but rather through a Christian Gnostic sect called Manichaenism. For many years he was an adherent of this religion and we get one of the earliest first-hand accounts of its beliefs from a former member. In fact, much of the later books deal with his conversion from a Manichaean to a Catholic Chrsitian. And in the process of the conversion he asks questions that many Christians often think about but are afraid to ask, such as the origin of Evil and the theology behind the Trinity and such. This makes this book one of the earliest surviving books about Christian theology and Eschatology. It is still a book that is referenced many centuries later by Theologians, Philosophers, and even Psychologists like C.G. Jung who references this book extensively throughout his various papers. It is interesting to note that Jung came to a similar but less religious conclusion as to the origin of evil.
The final three books of the “Confessions” are more or less an exegesis on the first few verses of Genesis, explored from a philosophical and theological point of view. They seem quite different from 10 books that precede it in that they do not seem deal with St. Augustine’s life story. Many earlier versions would only translate and collect the first 10 books as a result. But if you look at them with the idea of confessions in mind, while the first 10 books are a confession of his sins, the last three are a confession of his faith. The book was not meant to convert people. It was more of a guideline of how to convert. The audience for this book was clearly for one who was already interested in entering the Catholic Faith, but had doubts about being able to do so. The book assumes you already have a basic belief in Christianity and that should be taken into account when reading his philosophical explanations. However, his sense of anguish at trying to be a better person, being unable to immediately put aside his vices... Those ring universal regardless of faith, and it is what ultimately provided a window for me into this particular saint’s mind.