St. Augustine Confessions (Oxford World's Classics)
In this new translation the brilliant and impassioned descriptions of Augustine's colorful early life are conveyed to the English reader with accuracy and art. Augustine tells of his wrestlings to master his sexual drive, his rare ascent from a humble Algerian farm to the edge of the corridors of high power at the imperial court of Milan, and his renunciation of secular ambition and marriage as he recovered the faith that his mother had taught him. It was in a Milan garden that Augustine finally achieved the act of will to Christian conversion, which he compared to a lazy man in bed finally deciding it is time to get up and face the day. - Back cover.
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Community Reviews
We own the Henry-Chadwick translation (because Jon asked). My thoughts on this are a bit all over the place as Augustine covers a lot of personal and religious topics. I'll just mention a few things that stuck out for me.
It reads more like a modern memoir than I expected. It's almost unbelievable that this is from the 4th century. It's part memoir and part conversation with God. It's so easy to relate to so many of his religious feelings even if he was the most Christian of Christians.
I think it's a bit funny that he criticizes the study of rhetoric so much, given that his skill in rhetoric is part of what makes this an amazing work. I find myself thinking most about his section about time because his views make sense philosophically and are also wrong when compared to what we know about time-space in physics.
He gives us little tastes of the world he lives in, but I wish he wrote more in his own words about his time and place. It's interesting to hear about some of the pagans, "Manicheans," and other early Christians.
It reads more like a modern memoir than I expected. It's almost unbelievable that this is from the 4th century. It's part memoir and part conversation with God. It's so easy to relate to so many of his religious feelings even if he was the most Christian of Christians.
I think it's a bit funny that he criticizes the study of rhetoric so much, given that his skill in rhetoric is part of what makes this an amazing work. I find myself thinking most about his section about time because his views make sense philosophically and are also wrong when compared to what we know about time-space in physics.
He gives us little tastes of the world he lives in, but I wish he wrote more in his own words about his time and place. It's interesting to hear about some of the pagans, "Manicheans," and other early Christians.
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