Confessions is the name of a series of thirteen autobiographical books by St. Augustine of Hippo written between AD 397 and AD 398. In modern times, the books are usually published as a single volume known as The Confessions of St. Augustine in order to distinguish the book from other books with similar titles such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions. For music albums named Autobiography, see Greek eauton = self, bios = life and graphein = write) is a form of biography, the writing of a life story. ... “Augustinus” redirects here. ... Events Council of Carthage: Definitive declaration of the biblical canon Candida Casa founded by Saint Ninian. ... Events John Chrysostom becomes bishop of Constantinople. ... Jean-Jacques Rousseau, (June 28, 1712 – July 2, 1778) was a Genevan philosopher of the Enlightenment whose political ideas influenced the French Revolution, the development of socialist theory, and the growth of nationalism. ... Confessions is a book by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. ...

The book tells about his sinful youth and how he converted to Christianity. It is widely seen as the first Western autobiography ever written, and would be an influential model for Christian writers throughout the following 1000 years of the Middle Ages. It is not a complete autobiography, as it was written in his early 40s, and he lived long afterwards, during which he produced another important work (City of God); it does, nonetheless, provide an unbroken record of his evolution of thought and is the most complete record of any single individual from the 4th and 5th centuries. It is a significant theological work. In the work St. Augustine talks about how much he regrets having led a sinful and immoral life. He talks about how he regrets following the Manichaean heresy and believing in astrology. And he talks about how Nebridius helped to persuade him that astrology was not only incorrect but evil. And he talks about how St. Ambrose helped convert him to Christianity. He also talks about how much he regrets his sexual sins and how important sexual morality is to him. He also says that when he was in school that his favorite subject was mathematics because it was concrete and rigorously defined whereas other subjects were not. Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Cover of the first English edition of 1793 of Benjamin Franklins autobiography. ... This article is about the work by St. ... Manichean priests, writing at their desk, with panel inscription in Sogdian. ... Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut. ...

Chapters

1. His infancy and boyhood up to age 14. Augustine speaks of his inability to remember the sins he almost certainly committed during this time. Children serve as insight into what man would be if it weren't for being socialized into waiting one's turn. God teaches us to think of others before we think of ourselves, unlike children who cry until they are fed.;
2. His fall amongst bad companions, which led him to commit theft and succumb to lust. Augustine comes from a good family and he himself has never wanted for food. In this chapter Augustine explores why then did he and his friends steal pears from someone else's tree? He had many more, better pears of his own. He explains the feelings he had when he ate them and threw the rest away to rot. Augustine argues that he would not have stolen anything, probably, had he not been in the company of others who could share in his sin. Some insight is given into group mentality.;
3. His studies at Carthage, his conversion to Manichaeism and continued indulgence in lust between 16 and 19;
4. His loss of a friend and his studies in Aristotle and the fit and the fair between 20 and 29. Augustine is overcome with grief after his friend dies in his absence. Things he used to love he began to hate because everything reminded him of what was lost. He concludes that any time one loves something not 'in God', one is bound to feel such loss. Augustine then suggests that he began to love his life of sorrow more than his fallen friend.;
5. His moving away from Manichaeism under the influence of St. Ambrose in Milan at 29. Augustine starts to understand that things said simply can be true, while things put eloquently may be lacking in substance. He is unimpressed with the substance of Manichaeism but has not found something to replace it. He feels a sense of resigned acceptance to these fables as he has not yet formed a spiritual core to prove their falsity.;
6. His moving towards Catholicism under the influence of St. Ambrose at 30. He is taken aback by Ambrose's kindness but still does not understand the substance of his teachings.;
7. His moving towards a greater understanding of God at 31;
8. His conversion to Christianity at the age of 32 and his instruction by Simplicianus on how to convert others;
9. His baptism at 33, the death of his mother Monica and the death of his friends Nebridius and Vecundus, and his abandonment of his studies of rhetoric;
10. Continued reflections on the values of confessions and on the workings of memory, as related to the 5 senses.
11. Reflections on Genesis and searching for the meaning of time;
12. Continued reflections on the book of Genesis; and
13. Exploration of the meaning of Genesis and the Trinity
14. His exploration of smoking fat blunts

Carthage (Greek: , from the Phoenician Kart-hadasht meaning new town, Arabic: ‎, Latin: ) refers both to an ancient city in North Africa located in modern day Tunis and to the civilization that developed within the citys sphere of influence. ... Manichean priests, writing at their desk, with panel inscription in Sogdian. ... Aristotle (Greek: Aristotélēs) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Saint Ambrose, (Latin: Sanctus Ambrosius, Ambrosius episcopus Mediolanensis; Italian: SantAmbrogio) (c. ... As a Christian ecclesiastical term, Catholic - from the Greek adjective , meaning general or universal[1] - is described in the Oxford English Dictionary as follows: ~Church, (originally) whole body of Christians; ~, belonging to or in accord with (a) this, (b) the church before separation into Greek or Eastern and Latin or... Senses Senses are a UK based alternative rock band from Coventry. ... Genesis (Hebrew: ‎, Greek: Γένεσις, meaning birth, creation, cause, beginning, source or origin) is the first book of the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Old Testament. ... A pocket watch, a device used to tell time Look up time in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Trinity (disambiguation). ...

References

• Warner, Rex (1963). The Confessions of St. Augustine. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-451-62474-2.  (Translation into English)

Rex Warner (March 9, 1905 - June 24, 1986) was an English classicist, writer and translator. ...

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Confessions of Saint Augustine

• New Advent explanation of Confessions
• The Confessions of St Augustine in Latin
• English translation of the Confessions of St. Augustine
• "An Introduction to Augustine's Confessions", by James J. O'Donnell.