Product Description
The Confessions of St. Augustine has been translated into more languages than any Latin writings except Virgil's. Now this great classic appears in a distinguished new translation for the modern reader by celebrated translator, John K. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

Great Book
I love this book. Everyone in some point in life need to Read this great piece of work.Enjoyed every page written very well.

St. Augustine
This book was filled with great knowledge and had a very profound effect on the reader.

Inspiring and Heartwarming
I had read an abridged version of the Confessions but there seemed to be so much missing and in this book I found all the panorama of the whole. A delightful read which tells more about Augustine than any history book ever could. I cried with him when his mother died. He asks God so many of the questions we all ask and his ability to stand apart from himself and critique himself with brutal honesty makes the Confessions the masterpiece that it is.

A low budget publication
When I bought this audiobook I was expecting something more dramatical and poetical than what Bernard Mayes read. I understand they used an old-fashioned English but quite elegant translation, but the problem is Mr. Mayes reading of it. It is really difficult to follow his way. Also the sound system used for the recording is terrible and make the impression of being low budget. This is not my first Blackstone Audiobook and that is what surprise me!!! I always thought of Blackstone Audiobook as a good-standing alternative to Naxos but now I think they need to keep a more strict eye in their production.

horrible
Bernard Mayes mutilates the reading of this wonderful book.He sounds like Gollum from the Lord of the Rings.His reading is just horrible.Some word pronouncements are barely audible, the sounding of the letter s, makes it sound like he has some teeth missing.I am continually having to adjust my sound dial as he is up and down with the sound of his voice. I have no idea why blacstone audio went with this guy. ... Read more

Product Description
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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

For 89 cents, not a bad deal....
but know that the translation is a bit clunky.It written in a "King James" style or Old English style. For example, Book I starts: "Great art Thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is Thy power, and Thy wisdom infinite.And Thee would man praise; man, but a particle of Thy creation;..."If you can past that, then all is well and this is a great buy.If you cannot get past that, then it is $.89 thrown out the window.

Written for Forever
There are three classes of support for Christian belief: the metaphysical, the historical, and the experiential. The metaphysical argues from logic and the existence and nature of reality, the historical from the past - both human and pre-human, and the experiential from personal, and private, experience.

While I don't want to diminish the metaphysical or historical components of Christian belief and apologetics, I think that the most important source of living belief is the experiential, but it is also by far the hardest to communicate, since it is by nature, private and personal. While my experiences may convince me of the truth of the Christian faith, how can they convince you? They are part of my experience, not yours. It might seem to be an impossibility, yet this is the challenge that Augustine took on in "Confessions", and it is by the degree of difficulty that the extent of his success and the greatness of the work can be measured.

"Confessions" is a work of great beauty. Written in the form of a confessional prayer, Augustine bares himself utterly, and in so doing, makes the reader want to lower his defenses as well, making it possible to experience another's life more deeply than he might have thought possible, and in so doing, to translate his experience of Christianity across the divide that separates us from each other.

Because of the nature of "Confessions", I think that analysis of it is to be avoided. Analysis is distancing - it encourages the reader not to dive it in, but to stand back. You cannot experience "Confessions" and critique it at the same time, and all of the value is in the experience.

Excellent Translation
I won't recount all the excellent reasons for reading this remarkablebook. It's not a part of the Western Canon for nothing! It's a seminal work(autobiography) in a seminal field (Patristics)worth reading regardless ofreligious orientation, including none. What makes THIS particular versionso exciting is that it is eminently readable and still quite stylized.Chadwick's eloquent translation caputes not only Augustine's ideas andthoughts, but equally important, his rhetorical skills. This alonejustifies the purchase of this work. The philosophical nuances that,ironically, have entered twentieth-century thought again are very clearlyarticulated in Chadwick's translation. Other translations are likely toobfusicate what Chadwick elucidates. Read this great work by a greattranslator. I am confident you'll return to it again and again (even if youdisagree with the Doctor).

The Confessions is a very human and poetic account .
The Confessions is a strangely vulnerable and lyrical account on a subject where we would expect dogmatism and grandiosity.Despite the "St." in front of his name Augustine comes across as the kind of slob that we might run across at any time.He reminds us of ourselves.Here we do not find certitude or self-satisfaction only a weird kind of singing, of phrasing, of worship.What we find here is a book of poetry.

Confessions :Augustine's contribution to western thought
This book may not seem very ground-breaking to modern readers who have grown up within a western culture influenced by these ideas, however it is one of the foundational works of western thought. Whether or not you agree with Augustine's conclusions and ideals, no argument can be made about early western thought without confronting the influence and presence of this work.If read on an allegorical as well as a surface level, his original combination of christian symbolism and classical philosophy is clearly that of a genius.This melding of ideas began with earlier scholars, but was completely realized in this work.By all means give this work a chance, and be patient through what seems like difficult prose to the modern reader. ... Read more

Product Description
Confessions is one of the most moving diaries ever recorded of a man's journey to the fountain of God's grace. Writing as a sinner, not a saint, Augustine shares his innermost thoughts and conversion experiences, and wrestles with the spiritual questions that have stirred the hearts of the thoughtful since time began. Starting with his childhood in Numidia, through his youth and early adulthood in Carthage, Rome, and Milan, readers will see Augustine as a human being, a fellow traveler on the road to salvation. Though staggering around potholes and roadblocks, all will find strength in Augustine's message: when the road gets rough, look to God! Previously released in 1977, this book invites readers to join Augustine in his quest that led him to be one of the most influential Christian thinkers in the history of the church. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Version is watered down
This is not a complete version of the book, and contains only selections. Otherwise, book came very promptly and in great condition.

A great book for sinners: don't worry, one size fits all!
(As a preface, I state that this review was done originally for Frank Sheed's translation of the Confessions, which I consider the best. It is that translation used here for all quotations. However, I wanted to supply a positive review also for this audio version, which I own, which does have limitations as stated by other reviewers, since Sheed's translation has not yet been found in audio. I believe any introduction to Augustine is a step in the right direction.)

Sacred Scripture gives us persons like the prophet Isaiah, who cry out, "Woe is me, I am doomed!" He knows he is a sinner, especially realizing that he is in the presence of God. Saint Paul tells us "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost." Peter, in the gospel, falls on his knees in front of Jesus exclaiming, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." What the three have in common is not simply that they acknowledged their sinfulness. In doing so they began the process of becoming great people, eventually saints. Acknowledging our sins & sinfulness is therefore not a morbid exercise in futility. It is the beginning of true self-understanding. It is an invitation to greatness!

St. Augustine was also one of these. Early on in the "Confessions," he recalls when he was an adolescent that he stole pears, not to eat (he had better himself), but only for the sake of stealing, saying the only pleasure in doing it was that it was forbidden: "the malice of the act was base and I loved it--that is to say ... I loved the evil in me--not the thing for which I did evil, simply the evil" (Book 2, 4). Also, because there was another person involved, the sin was more attractive: "O friendship unfriendly, unanalyzable attraction for the mind, greediness to do damage for the mere sport and jest of it, desire for another's loss with no gain to oneself or vengeance to be satisfied."

"I went away from Thee my God, in my youth I strayed too far from Thy sustaining power, and I became to myself a barren land." He says: "Who can understand sins?" This is after discussing the CAPITAL SINS and their futility, for example:
AVARICE wants to possess much, where God possesses all.
ANGER cries for vengeance, but only God's vengeance is just.
ENVY tries to excel, but who can excel before God?

Father De Bergamo, in the introduction of Humility of Heart, calls these the innate springs of evil within us, from which all other sins arise. All that we are, we have received from God, except for our sinfulness, deeply imbedded in our nature. Then he names the characteristics of his soul, i.e. the SEVEN CAPITAL SINS: PRIDE, COVETOUSNESS/AVARICE, LUST, ANGER, GLUTTONY, ENVY/JEALOUSY, AND SLOTH.

Part of the greatness of St. Augustine was his ability to analyze this and show how it works. Any of these can get out of hand (addictions & compulsions). For him it was predominantly lust (but compellingly all, except perhaps gluttony); for the alcoholic it is usually some combination of pride, anger, & gluttony; for each person, it can be different.

But, EVIL IN HIM?--Yes! St. Augustine knew very much about Original Sin--what we inherited from our first parents. Yes, Baptism took care of it for us: the sin, but not, however, the effects. No, Baptism did not do much about these. It doesn't take very much thinking for us to see how much these affect each of us, and the world around us. Even our modern society realizes that these can get so out of hand that they can exercise a real control over our lives. We have support groups that attest to this. We have "THIS ANONYMOUS" and "THAT ANONYMOUS." And we all know that these groups really work. Why? Because the people admit that they are helpless over that which has its hold on them (they become humbled) and they know that they must turn to God who alone can cure them.

Any person struggling with compulsive or addictive behavior can find comfort in the writings of St. Augustine. He knew what sin was. He knew how it worked. He described it! He knew that any of the capital sins could dominate us and be the source of evil in us. It starts, he says, by just giving into them--that's where the evil begins: WE WILL TO DO EVIL! If repeated enough, we develop habits. Habits, if continued, can turn to compulsions. Compulsions, not resisted, become necessities. He says later (Book 8): "The enemy held my will, and out of it he made a chain and bound me. Because my will was perverse it changed to lust, and lust yielded to habit, and habit not resisted became necessity." And, "With the object of the experiment as myself I was able to see how the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. (see Romans 6, 7, and 8). He was held captive by the "law of sin."

No surprise! We can all see this in us to some degree. We can pervert our will so that any of our passions can have a hold on us. St. Augustine describes these as "chains which bound him," and though he wanted to love God, his will struggled greatly because his sins "held him bound," like a "captive!"

He understood, first hand, what St. Paul meant in Romans 7:13, ff., about being a "prisoner to the law of sin in his body's members." That is, St. Augustine describes, "the law of sin is the fierce force of habit, by which the mind is drawn and held even against its will, and yet deservedly because it had fallen willfully into the habit" (Book 8,5). So, he knew he was licked, that was his first step! His second step he got from his "sponsor," St. Paul, who himself could say "what a wretched man I am" in Romans 7:24 and also the answer for St. Augustine: "Who then should deliver me from the body of this death, but Thy grace only, through Jesus Christ Our Lord!"

St. Augustine was willing to pray for help: Lord that I may know me; and I may know Thee."We see in this what Father Scupoli, in The Spiritual Combat and a Treatise on Peace of Soul (Tan Classics), that the SPIRITUAL LIFE consists in: "knowing the infinite greatness and goodness of God, together with a true sense of our own weakness and tendency to evil ... and in renouncing our will to follow His." The battle always includes: DISTRUST IN SELF, CONFIDENCE IN GOD accompanied by PRAYER. This is no different than "believing that we are powerless," that help must come from "a power greater than ourselves," and then asking for help.

Like it or not, we are all involved in this battle. Only if we have HUMILITY will we be able to see our own helplessness and turn to God who can and will help us. Saint Augustine's "Confessions"will enable us to recognize this in ourselves and respond, as did Saint Teresa of Avila, as she describes in Teresa of Avila: The Book of Her Life (a new translation):
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"O my God, I am amazed at the hardness of my heart amidst so many succours from Thee.I am filled with dread when I see how little I could do with myself, and how I was clogged, so that I could not resolve to give myself entirely to God.When I began to read the "Confessions," I thought I saw myself there described, and began to recommend myself greatly to this glorious Saint.When I came to his conversion and read how he heard that voice in the garden, it seemed to be nothing less than that our Lord had uttered it for me: I felt so in my heart.I remained for some time lost in tears, in great inward affliction and distress. O my God, what a soul has to suffer because it has lost the liberty it had of being mistress over itself!And what torments it has to endure; I wonder now how I could live in torments so great: God be praised Who gave me life, so that I might escape from so fatal a death!I believe that my soul obtained great strength from His Divine Majesty, and that He must have heard my cry, and had compassion upon so many tears."

Confessions of St Augustine
This is great Lenten Reading, and just good reading in general. What I have read and understood I wished I had read this book earlier in my life.

Edited and Biased
It's incomplete and the text has been slanted to support a modern day Christian thesis. There is no table of contents, and the text is difficult to navigate.

Confessions of St. Augustine
Got it in time and in perfect condition. The seller contacted me back right away as well. ... Read more

Product Description

Of all the factors influencing our spiritual growth and development, pivotal books play a key role. learning from those who have walked the path and fought the fight brings wisdom and strengthens resolve. and hearing the familiar chords of kingdom living sung by voices from other times can penetrate cultural barriers limiting our allegiance to the King. To this end, Moody Publishers is honored to introduce the first six volumes in what is to be an ongoing series of spiritual classics. Selected for their enduring influence and timeless perspective, these new editions promise to shape the lives of spiritual pilgrims for generations to come.

Customer Reviews (3)

disappointment
Old translation... like reading the KJV Bible. And it only has books one to ten (should be 13)

Confessions of St Augustine
This book is an excellent portrayal of the beliefs of the early Christians (Catholics) before the splintering of new denominations.

Confessions of St. Augustine
It is a rather difficult read but I believe this classic is worth it.Not a book for a person who likes light and/or fun reading.Much more for the reflective person. ... Read more

Product Description
One of the most influential religious books in the Christian tradition recalls crucial events and episodes in the author's life: his mid-fourth-century origins in rural Algeria; the rise to a lavish lifestyle at the imperial court in Milan; his struggle with sexual desires; eventual renunciation of secular ambitions and marriage; and recovery of his Catholic faith. A detailed classic that will be important to students of religion, religious scholars, and anyone interested in the impact made by one of the most significant figures in the development of Christian thought.
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Customer Reviews (3)

asad
A very interesting and comprehensible book, especially in light of its original's age. The Latin-to-English language translation was concise as well; even for for someone with an elementary knowledge of both Latin and the history of Christian Theology.

Good Translation of a Classic Work
For being so cheap, I was suprised at the quality in translation of this cornerstone of christian writtings. If you are looking for a good introduction to Augustine, or want to learn more on the development of christian thought through the ages, Confessions is a good buy and a great read.

Take and read
Augustine's 'Confessions' is among the most important books ever written. One of the first autobiographical works in the modern sense, it also represents the first time a psychological and theological enterprise were combined. It also helps to bridge the gap between the Classical world and the Medieval world, exhibiting strong elements identifying with each of those major historical periods.

Most undergraduates in the liberal arts encounter the book at some point; all seminarians do (or should!). Many adults find (or rediscover) the book later, after school. For many in these categories, there are concepts, narrative strands and historical data new and unusual for them. However, Augustine's 'Confessions' is still generally more accessible in many ways that truly classical pieces; it has interior description as well as external reporting that we are familiar with in modern writing.

The 'Confessions' shows Augustine's personality well - he was a passionate person, but his focus wavered for much of his life until finally settling upon Christianity and the Neoplatonic synthesis with this faith. Even while remaining a passionate Christian and rejecting the sort of dualism present in the Manichee teachings, he varied between various positions within these systems. Augustine's varied thought reaches through many denominational and scholarly paradigms.

The 'Confessions' are divided into thirteen chapters, termed 'Books' - the first ten of the books are autobiographical, with Augustine describing both events in his life as well as his philosophical and religious wanderings during the course of his life. The text is somewhat difficult to take at times, as this is writing with a purpose, as indeed most autobiographies are. The purpose here at times seems to be to paint Augustine in the worst possible light (the worse his condition, the better his conversion/salvation ends up being); at other times, one gets a sense (as one might get when reading the Pauline epistles) that there is some significant degree of ego at work here (Paul boasts of being among the better students, and so does Augustine, etc.).

Augustine also uses his Confessions as a tract against the Manichean system - once a faithful adherent, Augustine later rejects the Manichean beliefs as heretical; however, one cannot get past the idea that Augustine retained certain of their intellectual aspects in his own constructions even while denouncing them in his official life story.

The whole of the conversion turns on two primary books - Book Seven, his conversion to the Neoplatonic view of the world, including the metaphysics and the ethics that come along with this system; and Book 8, which describes his conversion to Christianity proper. This is where perhaps the most famous directive, 'Tolle! Lege!' ('Take and read!') comes from - Augustine heard a voice, and he picked up the nearest book, which happened to be a portion of the Pauline epistles, arguing against the undisciplined lifestyle Augustine lived. Scholars continue to debate whether Augustine's conversion to Christianity was more profound or more important than his conversion to Neoplatonism; in any event, Christianity interpreted through a Platonic framework became the norm for centuries, and remains a strong current within the Christian world view; Protestant reformers as they went back to the 'original bible' in distinction from the Catholic interpretations of the day also went back to the 'original Augustine' for much of their theology.

The final three books are Augustine's dealing with the creation of the world via narrative stories in Genesis 1 exegetically and hermeneutically. This is very different from what is done in modern biblical scholarship, but is significant in many respects, not the least of which as it gives a model of the way Augustine dealt with biblical texts; given Augustine's towering presence over the development of Western Christianity in both Catholic and Protestant strands, understanding his methods and interpretative framework can lead to significant insights into the ideas of medieval and later church figures.

This is a book that will be of interest to novice readers of Augustine as well as scholars, to students, clergy and laypersons, and anyone else who might have an historical, literary, philosophical, theological or other interest in Augustine - something for everyone, perhaps?

This particular edition is an abridgement, drawing in crucial elements in a new translation of the text.It probably consists of only about one-tenth of the overall text of the Confessions, pulling out significant stories and passages rather than preserving the entirety of the narrative strand.It is a good primer, but be advised that it is not the complete text.It does have a nice feel and design to it, and makes a good gift book.
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